


More Things in Heaven and Earth

by TaraTargaryen



Category: Doom (Video Games), Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Crossover, Dialogue Heavy, Explicit Language, F/M, Freeform, POV First Person, Paragade (Mass Effect)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-02
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-04-17 10:11:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 46,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14186607
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TaraTargaryen/pseuds/TaraTargaryen
Summary: The fate of the galaxy has been placed in the hands of the enigmatic Commander Shepard.





	1. A Leap of Faith

 

_I wriggled my toes, the sun warm on my legs. I was lounging in the hammock, on the deck of Verona, the estate house I’d bought with my brother before I went to Vila Militar. I could hear the ocean, but something was off; not right. I tried to remember how long I’d been here, when BJ groaned. I peered over the side of the fabric, he was sitting at the table, pouring over a datapad._

_“What’s wrong?” I asked, stretching my arms over my head._

_He grinned, but he didn’t look up. “Here – this is right up your alley. Eight down, six letters, ends in ‘a’. A paradox; puzzle, conundrum, mystery.”_

_He was right. I loved crosswords. “Enigma.” I answered confidently._

_He laughed. “That’s why you’re the brains of this outfit. What about twelve across: seven letters, third letter ‘m’, twelfth century crusader?”_

_I raised an eyebrow. “Templar, dumbass. How did you not get that one?” I swung my legs over the side of the hammock and joined him at the table. “Next?”_

_“Seventeen across, eight letters, fourth letter ‘t’. Watchman on guard.”_

_I smacked him playfully over the head. “Sentinel.”_

_“Alright, alright!” we both laughed, as he typed it in. I suddenly noticed the plate beside him, he was eating yakisoba noodles for breakfast, and I knew how spicy he liked them – something was still not right. His eyes locked on mine, and I studied his face, it was familiar, but not quite –_

_“Twenty-one down. Six letters.”_

_“BJ, stop -”_

_“Fifth letter ‘n’. French silver, heraldry.” He grabbed my hand._

_The ocean roared, I could hear, it so close to the house. My eyes dropped down to the noodles again. “BJ, I can’t smell the food,” my voice was shaking. “I can’t smell the ocean. Why can’t I smell?”_

_His eyes bored right through me, as though he wasn’t really seeing me. “French silver, Juliet. Heraldry. You know this one.” His hand was hot on mine, he was burning, it hurt._

_“Argent.”_

 

I woke, gasping, in my bunk on Arcturus Station. I’d been dreaming, something about home; my brother had been there. That was never good. I slid my omni-tool over my palm, and it was so cool to the touch. The mail icon blinked; I still hadn’t replied to Admiral Hackett’s missive. I doubted that I would.

Instead, I opened the station’s intranet and pulled up a map, looking for the closest bar.

 

There are five hundred different stories about me, about my life. Some of them are even exciting, packed with violence and action and adventure. I’ve even seen a few that portray me as some kind of tragic-romantic heroine; filled with betrayal and backstabbing and unlikely romance. Most of them contain grains of the truth, more or less.

On that note, I’d like to set the record straight, and acknowledge the people that are closest to me; the ones that have been to my personal hell and back with me and been by my side the whole way. I’m sure a few of them would even argue that we’ve been to literal, physical hell, and I’d be the last one to contradict them. There have been times I was so deep in shit I thought I’d never smell fresh air again. I suppose that’s what makes writing all this down so important.

I was born on April 11, 2154, in Vancouver, Canada, on Earth, in the Local Cluster of the Milky Way galaxy. At least, that’s what it says on my birth certificate. Between then and the earliest memory I can recall, I was relocated to a children’s home in Boulder City, Nevada. When I was eleven, I ran away and began living on the streets of Las Vegas. By the age of thirteen, I’d joined a gang; a small outfit of red sand dealers. Running around with the Tenth Street Reds taught me more than just how to survive. They taught me how to lie and cheat, how to steal, and even how to kill when it was necessary.

It was the first taste I’d ever had in my life of _control_. I was the master of my actions, I did things because I wanted to. Not because I was being told to. Not because someone else wanted me to. I became bolder, confident, sure of myself. That was partly what helped me make the first responsible decision I’d ever made in my entire life. When I was seventeen, I volunteered myself to go under the knife. I became one of the first people on Earth to be fitted with an L3 biotic implant.

I still remember the new feeling of being able to control my biotic impulses. I hurled a surgical trolley across the room without getting a nosebleed, and then I set the trolley right, neatly placing the instruments back in their trays in a neat line, almost effortlessly. I felt powerful. Indestructible. Dealing red sand was suddenly too easy. Cowards and cheaters were too easy to manipulate; I became increasingly bored and frustrated.

I have a vague recollection of browsing the extranet a day or so before my eighteenth birthday, the Reds were looking into buying a second-hand freighter for moving some stock off-world. I remember thinking, _fat chance_. I was under no illusions about how hard it would be to get red sand through interspace customs. That was when I saw it – a free holo download for a virtual tour of _Arcturus Station,_ the command centre of the Alliance Navy. I spent nearly nine hours wandering through the holo, playing and re-playing information about the Stanford-Torus design, the history of the station, the marvel of human engineering that existed out there, way past the Charon Relay.

I couldn’t sleep that night. I filled a backpack with everything I owned and caught a shuttle to Houston, Texas. I was the last person to sign up that day before the recruitment office closed. I like to think that the rest of my life began that day. I also like to think I was ready for it, but that’s the thing about life. It doesn’t matter what plans you make, it goes ahead and happens anyway.

And here I was, finally aboard the Arcturus Station, eleven years later. I’d been recruited as the 2-IC for a prototype scout ship, under Captain David Anderson. It was the captain I was researching, when I received a private missive from the top brass himself. Reading through it, I felt the weight of a whole planet descend on my shoulders. So, instead of answering the admiral, I’d tried to sleep, and then failing that, I’d headed for the closest bar.  

 

Thankfully, Arcturus did have one. I re-read Hackett’s missive and ordered another drink. _Probably not the wisest thing to be doing on the last night of shore leave,_ I told myself, but I downed it anyway and caught the bartender’s attention. I tilted my glass, signalling for another and he nodded, already on his way over with the bottle.

“Rough day?” he asked.

I responded with a non-committal grunt.

He nodded again, as though I’d answered. “Do I know you from somewhere?”

I shrugged. “Don’t think so.”

Mercifully, another patron caught his attention and he shuffled off, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sipped my drink slowly, swirling the dark liquid around the glass, getting lost in the tiny ripples.

 _I shouldn’t be here,_ I kept telling myself. In more ways than one, of course, but for tonight, just this bar. I should have been tucked up in my tiny barracks, getting a good night’s sleep before I started my new assignment. That’s what I’d planned, before the dream – or probably another nightmare – had woken me up. And of course, there was the missive. I’d opened it in confusion, thinking it was a late reassignment; or worse. In a way it _was_ worse; I couldn’t fathom how the brass thought putting a memorial on Torfan was a good idea. It would be torn down or blown up as soon as it was erected; surely _someone_ had to realise that. I knew what people said. _The Butcher of Torfan._ If only they knew. I didn’t want to be involved. I wanted to put that as far behind me as I possibly could, move on with my life. Maybe there was something wrong with that, but I didn’t care. My court-ordered therapist was the one who’d recommended it in the first place.

Across the dingy bar, a pair of green eyes caught mine and disappeared into the shadows. I was tired, and a little intoxicated, and absolutely no-way in the mood for any kind of _liaison_ , but before I’d decided any of that I was already reacting: straightening my spine, exposing my chest a little, making sure my good side was getting the light and affecting a not-so-fake air of nonchalance. This was a game I was good at, a game I could play without having to think.

Keeping an eye on my quarry, I extended a minute mass effect field from a single finger and used it to stir my glass. Ten years ago, a move like that would have knocked me out for half a day, but after what I’d been through it took about as much effort as winking. I liked to put on a subtle display of biotics when I was flirting. It helped weed out bigots, and people with less-than-genuine intentions. Well, that, and some guys found it kinky.

The green-eyes leaned forward as a hand reached for the glass, filling it with a cyclone of liquid gold. The pupils were dark vertical slits in his eyes, and my interest piqued. My new friend, I discovered, was a turian.

I’d never been with a turian before, and at the time I found the idea intimidating. I’d only met one or two folks who had, and found them… weird, to be honest. Ballsy, sure, but weird. Even so, I wasn’t turned off by the idea. People always used to say that about me. _Shepard will try anything once._

His intense eyes swept the length of my body; a top-to-toe threat assessment. I wasn’t surprised, not really, turians are militant to their bones. I blinked at him slowly, returning the gesture. My sidearm was tucked neatly away under my jacket, but his demeanour was calm. Relaxed. Not threatening. His mandible twitched, and while I’m no expert on turian body language, I had an intuitive feeling that I’d captured his interest.

The problem was, I had no idea then, what to do with it.

His exposed plates were dark red, the colour of dried-up old blood. The tattoos on his face were bone white, almost in the pattern of a Death’s Head. A three-taloned hand grasped his glass as he threw it down easily. Maybe it was the liquor, or maybe it was his arrogant, masculine presence, but I was already imagining his gloves off; running claws like razors down my spine.

I downed my drink and made my move, slipping like a silky shadow around the bar to his dark little corner, putting a little sway into each step. Hell, I had no idea how to seduce a turian, but I knew asari found it attractive, so, it was worth a shot.

I offered him a smile, not a real one, just a small twitch of the lips. I flicked my omni-tool up and transferred my room location from mine to his, and left, heart pounding. If he were human, it would’ve been a sure thing, but he wasn’t.

I made it back to my small, but thankfully private barracks without being followed, but I wasn’t disappointed, not yet. In the bathroom, I brushed out my hair, and wondered what it would look like draped across his chest in the morning. Familiar eyes stared back at me from the mirror, out of a familiar face, and I looked away. I wanted my ghosts to rest tonight.

Just after midnight, there was a soft knock at the door. He was tall, even for a turian, with a lithe, predator’s grace. He reminded me of the alien from that old Arnold Schwarzenegger vid. I smiled again. I felt dangerous; interspecies intercourse was complicated enough without the whole levo/dextro thing. There was potential for death in every caress, for both of us. His mandible twitched again, and I realised with a start that he was _grinning_. It was ghastly, his teeth were like needles. I shook myself off and plucked up my nerve. I had nothing to lose.  

 

~

 

In the morning, I was alone again. I watched my turian pick up his things and leave in the early hours. Every inch of my skin was stinging, and my shoulder was burning where his talons had raked it accidentally, but other than that, I felt quite peaceful. Yawning, I stood up and stretched myself out. I eyed the crack we made in the headboard of the bed furtively. _Maybe I can hide it behind the pillows_ , I thought to myself, _and avoid a credit charge for property damage._

 

I ordered a fresh set of uniforms to my barracks via the internal communications system and showered. My last assignment had been for a solo mission, my first mission as an N7. Infiltrating a small gang of batarian slavers had given me a sense of purpose, and after everything else I’d seen and done under the banner of the Alliance Navy, I wasn’t sure how I would fit in; going back to being part of a large team. But, it was in space, and space was where I longed to be more than anything. I didn’t have to be close to anyone, after all, I just had to serve beside them. I was kidding myself, of course. You can’t have one without the other. _At least now I’ll have something to think about, when I’m alone in my sleeper pod in space and haven’t been intimate in six hundred days,_ I thought, distracting myself from things I didn’t want to remember.

Whistling to myself, I headed for the Arcturus docking station. My new assignment was on the brass’ newest model, the _SSV Normandy SR-1_. A prototype deep-scout frigate, a love-child of human and turian engineering, sponsored by the Council. It was small and sleek, and even the open cargo hold had that new ship smell; disinfectant and steel and plastic, with just an oily twinge of eezo.

I fall into step with the lieutenant, Kaidan Alenko, and we begin our pre-spaceflight check. Normally, we’d be doing this with the pilot, but apparently, he was a _special circumstance_. The captain, David Anderson, I’d met once before, albeit briefly.

I snapped my boots together, Alenko’s a second behind me, saluting Anderson. He waved me away.

“Shepard. Glad you made it.” He was dressed in his best brass, and I wondered if I’d missed something.

“I thought this was just a shakedown,” I murmured to Kaidan.

“That’s what I was told, too.” His brow furrowed. The crew was loading crates in the cargo bay and I paused to admire the brand-new rover, which had no less than six marines standing by, guiding the driver inside. It was a newer Mako model, fresh off the assembly line. I’d driven a few earlier model Makos; some marines couldn’t get the handling right, but it had never been a problem for me. I was already imagining terrain-bashing across some foreign planet, mowing down pirates or mercenaries without mercy.

A skycar suddenly pulled right up to the terminal and Anderson made a beeline for it, distracting me from my imagination. He squared his shoulders as the door opened, pressing his mouth into a tight, thin line as the occupant stepped out onto the walkway.

Anderson reached out for a handshake and suddenly the pair were obscured from view as the car took off again. My skin started tingling again, an odd sensation this time. My gut stirred unpleasantly. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like what was coming.

Anderson headed straight for me, a heavily armoured turian on his tail.

“Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Alenko. Allow me to introduce Nihlus Kryik.”

Alenko stiffened but accepted his handshake nonetheless.

 _Unbelievable._ I nodded curtly in his direction, glaring. It was unmistakably the turian from last night.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance.” His green eyes bored into mine as he said it. Every single curse I’d ever learned in every language I knew was suddenly on the tip of my tongue.

“Nihlus is a Council Spectre. He will be overseeing the _Normandy’s_ shakedown run and reporting back to the Council. Let’s head on up to the bridge. There’s a lot to be done before we get clearance to depart.” Anderson led the way up through the cargo hold.

Alenko’s eyes were dark. “A _Spectre_? On a shakedown run?” he looked at me, and I shrugged. From his reaction, I had about as much intel as he did – that was, _nada._

It was early afternoon by the time we were out of the atmosphere. I watched Arcturus Station shrink behind us, glad that I’d finally gotten to see it. Nihlus disappeared during the cruise past Themis, and I remained firmly on the bridge with Anderson, determined to stay out of the Spectre’s way. I had to admit, the captain looked good, standing above the galaxy map, plotting the course of our shakedown.

“Where should we go, sir?” I asked.

His face split into a grin I could only describe as gleeful, looking down at me. “Shepard,” he said. “We can go anywhere we want.”

The pilot’s voice piped up over the loudspeaker. “We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination.” Physically, I couldn’t find anything about Jeff Moreau that I would’ve labelled a special circumstance, unless talking too much counted. Or the fact that he asked me to call him _Joker_. I supposed he was a bit on the skinny side, for an Alliance pilot.

I headed for the cockpit. I’d been through over a dozen mass relays by then, but it was my first time through the Arcturus Prime Relay, and my favourite seat was still the front row.

“The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector.” Even with the artificial gravity, you could feel the very slight _pull_ towards the relay. “All stations secure for transit.”

Nihlus was already there, standing right behind Joker, and I fixed him with my coldest glare and turned my shoulder away.

“The board is green. Approach run has begun.” Intense, blue-white light filled the screens in front of us. “Hitting the relay in… three… two… one…”

For a moment, there was nothing but light, until we reappeared in the dark of space. “Thrusters, check. Navigation, check. Internal emissions sink engaged; all systems online. Drift, just under fifteen-hundred K.” Joker’s smug voice filled the silence.

“Fifteen-hundred is good. Your captain will be pleased.” Nihlus’ flanging vocals announced, and he retreated back towards the bridge. I didn’t watch him go.

“I hate that guy,” Joker immediately began to complain.

“Nihlus gave you a compliment, so… you hate him?” Lieutenant Alenko raised an eyebrow.

Joker replied with a long-suffering sigh. “You remember to zip-up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom? That’s _good_. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead. So that’s incredible.”

I hid a smirk behind my hand.

“Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don’t like having him on board. Call me paranoid.”

“You’re paranoid.” Alenko confirmed. “The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to send someone to keep an eye on their investment.”

Moreau rolled his eyes. “Yeah, that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story.”

“They don’t send Spectres on shakedown runs,” I agreed, quietly seething. I supposed I was just pissed off that my casual one-night stand had gone and shown up at work. Of all the guys on Arcturus to meet in a bar, I’d gone and picked a fucking Council Spectre. I didn’t even know what that meant, except a vague recollection of Spectres being some kind of extra-militant Council police. What the hell was one doing on an Alliance ship, anyway?

“So, there’s more going on here than the captain’s letting on?” Joker sounded hopeful.

“Joker! Status report.” Anderson barked over the comm.

“Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid.”

“Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime.”

“Aye aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. I think Nihlus is headed your way.”

Anderson paused. “He’s already here, Lieutenant. Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing.”

I refrained from sighing with relief. _Finally._

Moreau looked at me. “You get that, Commander?”

“Great. You piss the captain off and now I’m going to pay for it.” I rolled my eyes and headed for the comm room.

“Pfft,” I heard Joker snort behind me. “Don’t blame me. The captain’s always in a bad mood.”

“Only when he’s talking to you, Joker.” The lieutenant quipped back.

I was starting to think that being part of a ship’s crew wouldn’t be so bad, after all.

“I’m telling you, I just saw him!” The navigator, Pressly, was arguing with someone over the comm. “He marched by like he was on a mission!”

I heard the voice of our engineer reply, exasperated. “He’s a Spectre. They’re always on a mission.”

“And we’re getting dragged along with him!”

“Relax, Pressly. You’re going to give yourself an ulcer.”

Pressly suddenly caught my eye and turned, saluting. “Congratulations, Commander. Looks like we had a smooth run. You heading down to see the captain?”

“Sounds like you don’t trust our turian guest,” I remarked, feeling wry.

Pressly, at least, has the grace to look embarrassed. “Sorry, Commander. Just having a chat with Adams down in engineering. Didn’t mean to cause any trouble. But you have to admit, something’s not right about this mission. The whole crew feels it.”

 _I knew it._ “You think the Alliance brass is holding out on us?”

“If all we’re supposed to do is test out the stealth system, why is Captain Anderson in charge? And then there’s Nihlus. Spectres are elite operatives. Top covert agents. Why send a Spectre – a turian Spectre – on a shakedown run? It doesn’t add up.”

I folded my arms. “You don’t trust Nihlus?” Maybe I could convince Captain Anderson that the crew wanted to kick the turian out.

“I don’t like turians in general. Runs in my family. My grandfather fought in the First Contact War; lost a lot of friends when the turians hit us.”

Well, maybe not then. The captain didn’t look like a man who tolerated racism on his ship. “That was thirty years ago. You can’t blame Nihlus for that,” I told Pressly sternly.

He looked at the floor. “No, I guess not. But it still makes me nervous to have a Spectre on board, especially a turian. We’re an Alliance vessel, human military. But Nihlus doesn’t answer to the captain like the rest of us. Spectres operate outside the normal chain of command, and they don’t come along just to observe shakedown runs. Nihlus looks like he’s expecting some heavy action. I don’t like it.”

“Do you have a problem with the captain?” I asked him bluntly.

“No ma’am! But I can’t figure out what he’s doing here. Captain Anderson is one of the most decorated Special Forces officers in the service. If he melted down all his medals, he could make a life-size statue of himself. You don’t send a soldier like that on a do-nothing mission. He’s treating this shakedown run too seriously. Something big is going on.”

I changed the subject. “What do you know about the stealth systems?”

Pressly was taken aback. “I just know it masks our location from scans and sensors. Cutting-edge technology. The _Normandy_ ’s the only ship with this prototype drive. But why are we fully staffed? I skeleton crew would be cheaper; less chance of security leaks, too. Plus, there’s Nihlus! It’s pretty obvious this shakedown run is just a cover.”

Neither did I, but it wasn’t my call to make. “I’ll see if I can get some answers when I see him.”

He looked placated. “Good luck, Commander.”

In the hallway, I bumped into one of the younger marines and the ship’s doctor.

“I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It’s not the kind of place Spectres visit. There’s something Nihlus isn’t telling us about this mission.”

Ugh. Seemed like I couldn’t go anywhere on the damn ship without running into people talking about the damn turian. I was beginning to wish I’d never left my barracks last night.

“That’s crazy. The captain’s in charge here. He wouldn’t take orders from a Spectre!” the doctor was exclaiming loudly.

“Not his choice, Doc. Spectres don’t answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill anyone who gets in their way.”

I remember thinking how ridiculous that was. I guess the joke was on me.

The doctor laughed. “You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins.”

“What do you think, Commander? We won’t be staying on Eden Prime too long, will we? I’m itching for some real action!”

“I sincerely hope you’re kidding, Corporal. Your ‘real action’ usually ends up with me patching up crew members in the infirmary.” The doctor snapped scathingly.

“You need to calm down, Corporal. A good soldier stays cool, even under fire.” I told him seriously. The young ones were always too eager to get in a fight.

He looked apologetic. “Sorry, Commander. But this waiting’s killing me. I’ve never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!”

I decided to dig for some information. “What can you tell me about Nihlus?” I asked.

“Turians are generally well-respected by the other species. Their fleet has more patrols protecting Citadel space than any other. They don’t always get on well with us though. Some people find them too rigid. Others still blame them for the First Contact War. As for Nihlus, I haven’t said more than two words to him. He usually only speaks to the captain.”

Hmph. _Rigid._ If only she knew.

“I heard Nihlus once took down an entire enemy platoon all by himself. Man, I can’t believe I’m on a mission with an actual Spectre!” Jenkins piped back up.

I made a noise in my throat. I was unimpressed. “What about Spectres?” I was starting to develop a morbid curiosity regarding my turian friend. If I was going to confront him I needed to somehow gain the upper hand.

Unfortunately, Doctor Chakwas didn’t having for me I didn’t already know. “Only what I’ve heard. Spectre agents work directly for the Citadel Council. They usually work alone or in small groups. Spectres don’t have any official power, though. Basically, they’re a shadow organisation with a mandate to preserve and protect galactic stability.”

“Protect it at any cost,” Jenkins added. “Don’t forget that part. Spectres operate above the law.”

That made me frown. “How do you control agents with unlimited power?”

“I suppose the Council could revoke the Spectre status of an agent who got out of hand,” Chakwas mused. “At that point, Citadel Security Services would take over.”

C-Sec. I supposed that made sense.

“Those C-Sec grunts wouldn’t stand a chance. A Spectre’s worth twenty ordinary soldiers!” Jenkins insisted. “The Spectres police themselves. An agent goes rogue, they send another agent to take ‘em down. That’s Spectre justice!”

Chakwas rolled her eyes. “The corporal is confusing romantic legends with reality, Commander.” She drawled.

“Why don’t we have any of our own people in there?” I was curious now.

“Spectres usually come from the Council races. Like the turians. We’ve been trying to get a human accepted into their ranks for years now. So far, it hasn’t happened.”

“Hey Commander! You’d make a good Spectre!”

I blinked at Jenkins. No one needed to know I’d been thinking the same thing.

“They’re always getting dropped into impossible situations, forced to survive unbeatable odds… Just like you on Akuze!”

I don’t know what my face looked like, but he backed down very suddenly after he said that. “I try not to think about Akuze,” I told him, my voice as soft as I could make it.

“Sorry, Commander. I didn’t mean to offend you,” he backtracked immediately. “I respect what you did there. We all do.”

“Let’s not dwell on the past, Commander. Was there something else you needed?” the doctor asked, gently changing the subject.

“The captain’s waiting for me.” I replied stiffly.

 

~

 

The captain was not, in fact, waiting for me, but Nihlus was. I scowled at him.

“Commander Shepard. I was hoping you’d get here first. It will give us a chance to talk.”

I did not like the way he said that. “What about?”

He began to pace. “I’m interested in this world we’re going to. Eden Prime. I’ve heard it’s quite beautiful.”

“I’m a marine. Not some tourist on vacation.” I sneered.

“It’s more than just a tourist destination, isn’t it, Shepard? Eden Prime is a symbol of your people, a perfect little world on the edges of your territory.” His green eyes glittered. “Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies, but also protect them.” He paused. “But how safe is it – really?”

I stepped up to him. “Do you know something, Nihlus?” I felt my lip curling involuntarily.

“Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?”

I had a string of insults on my tongue when the doors parted, and Anderson walked in.

“I think it’s about time we told the commander what’s really going on,” he grimaced at me, apologetic.

“This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run,” Nihlus informed me.

I snorted. “I already figured that out.”

“We’re making a covert pick-up on Eden Prime. That’s why we needed the stealth systems operational.”

“There must be a reason you didn’t tell me about this, sir?” Keeping my voice level took more effort than I was ready to admit, especially in front of Nihlus. In my experience, secrecy got people killed.

“This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need-to-know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean.”

I suddenly had a thousand questions. “I thought the Protheans vanished fifty thousand years ago?” That’s what I was taught, last time I sat in a school.

“Their legacy still remains. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives – it’s all based on Prothean technology.” Nihlus informed me, matter-of-fact.

Captain Anderson agreed with him. “This is big, Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn’t have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study.”

“Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Council space.”

Obviously, Nihlus meant for that to have some kind of effect on me, but I wasn’t moved by his testimony. “Why didn’t we keep the beacon for ourselves?” I asked the captain.

“You humans don’t have the best reputation,” Nihlus interrupted. “Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous.”

Perversely, I wondered if he’d thought that while I’d held him in stasis on a bed back on Arcturus, performing some extremely selfless acts in the name of interspecies cooperation. Wisely, I said nothing.

“Sharing the beacon will improve relations with the Council. Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Protheans than we do.” Anderson shared a nod with the Spectre.

“The beacon’s not the only reason I’m here, Shepard,” Nihlus added, and if I wasn’t mistaken, the glare in his impossibly green eyes dimmed a little.

“Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He’s here to evaluate you.”

If I had a better sense of humour, I would have laughed. “What’s going on, Captain?”

Nihlus was circling behind me, and I straightened my shoulders.

The captain regarded me, nodding to himself. “The Alliance has been pushing this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council’s power and authority.” He held his fist out in his hand. “If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come.”

“Not many could have survived what you went through, on Akuze. You showed a remarkable will to live – a particularly useful talent.”

Back then, it felt like everything I did in my life could be traced right back to Akuze. I wanted to scream and cry and bury my head in the sand, I was sick of fucking talking about Akuze. Why couldn’t anyone just let me leave the past behind? I wasn’t some masochist, eager to relive the pain. I wanted to let go. I’d been trying so hard to just let it all go. It just seemed like no one around me was going to let me, and I felt so helpless. So damn angry, all the time.

“… that’s why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres,” Nihlus was saying, as I re-entered reality.

I started. “Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?” I snapped at him, disbelieving.

“Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy. And to the Spectres.”

I supposed he’d proved that already.

“We are an elite group. It’s rare to find an individual with the skills we seek. I don’t care that you’re human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job.”

I addressed Anderson begrudgingly. “I assume this is good for the Alliance.”

“Earth needs this, Shepard.” He confirmed. “We’re counting on you.”

“I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together.” I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but I thought Nihlus seemed pleased with himself.

“You’ll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission.”

Sounded easy enough. A simple covert pick-up. “Just give the word, Captain.” I resigned myself to my fate and tried not to feel bitter.

Anderson nodded. “We should be getting close to Eden -”

“Captain! We’ve got a problem.” Joker’s voice blared suddenly over the comms.

“What’s wrong, Joker?” he demanded.

“Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!” Moreau’s voice was frantic.

“Bring it up on screen.”

We saw marines, hurling their bodies across a verdant field, the sound of gunfire not far behind them. A woman in that ridiculous Phoenix armour dove across the camera’s POV, screaming at someone to get down and firing on an unseen assailant.

I glanced at Nihlus, his eyes were fixed ahead, mandibles fluttering.

“We are under attack! Taking heavy casualties, I repeat: heavy casualties! We can’t -” static drowned her voice out. “… need evac! They came out of nowhere, we need -”

She was cut off again as the camera jerked out of her face and a black gauntlet reached for something off-camera. There was more gunfire, an explosion, and then… nothing back static.

“Everything cut outs after that. No comm traffic at all. Just goes dead, there’s nothing…” Joker was beside himself.

“Reverse and hold at thirty-eight point five.” Anderson ordered.

Joker obliged.

What I’d thought was some marine’s black gauntlet was, in fact, a dreadnought, descending from the sky. I’d never seen anything remotely resembling a ship like that before, not in books, not in old vids, not in any of my expeditions across space. Red lightening curled around the descending phalanges. The spires of the ruins of Eden Prime were utterly dwarfed by the size of it. Anderson’s face was transfixed. Nihlus’ mandible twitched again, just once. I looked back at the screen. I didn’t know if I should be terrified or awe-struck.

“Status report.” The captain croaked.

Joker’s response was prompt. “Seventeen minutes out, Captain. No other Alliance ships in the area.”

“Take us in, Joker. Fast and quiet. This mission just got a lot more complicated.”

“A small strike team can move quickly without drawing attention. It’s our best chance to secure the beacon.” Nihlus offered.

Anderson looked at him. “Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold.” He turned to me next as Nihlus walked away. “Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up, Commander. You’re going in.”

 

~

 

I beat Alenko and Jenkins to the cargo hold, catching up with Nihlus. He was inspecting his firearms and didn’t look up.

“If you wanted to work with me, you shouldn’t have slept with me. There are regulations -”

“Not in the Spectres, Commander. And if I recall correctly, you were the one to initiate contact, no?” He holstered his shotgun and began to load ammunition into his pistol.

“You didn’t have to follow me to my room!” I hissed back.

This time, he looked up. “I was curious. I’ve read your file, I’ve spoken to your previous superiors, I even followed you around for a while when you arrived on Arcturus. I wanted to see if there was any truth to the stories, about the famous Commander Shepard.”

I snorted. “Well, it won’t happen again.” I snapped.

His mandible twitched infuriatingly. “Of course not.” He agreed smoothly, returning to his inspection.

Alenko and Jenkins descended into the cargo hold, the latter eyeing my new turian overseer with marked curiosity. Joker announced our approach to Eden Prime, and I began debriefing my team.

“Engaging stealth systems,” Joker let us know, after a horrible, agonising eternity of being in close proximity to Nihlus. “Somebody was doing some serious digging here, Captain.”

Eden Prime was supposed to be a paradise, but from where I was standing, it looked like it was on fire.

“Your team’s the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site.” Anderson ordered.

“What about survivors, Captain?” Alenko wanted to know.

“Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon’s your top priority.”

“Approaching drop point one,” Moreau piped up.

Nihlus headed for the open door.

“Nihlus? You’re coming with us?” Alenko was surprised.

“I move faster on my own,” he replied, like a classic asshole.

“Nihlus will scout out ahead. He’ll feed you status reports throughout the mission; otherwise, I want radio silence.” Anderson ordered.

“We’ve got his back, Captain.” As much as I loathed Nihlus right now, I could see the opportunity he was presenting me with, and it would have been crazy not to see how valuable it was.

“The mission’s yours now, Shepard. Good luck.”

“We are approaching drop point two,”

The captain clapped me on the shoulder and the _Normandy_ descended towards the ground. I glanced at Jenkins and Alenko, beside me. To do this right, I had to trust them to have my back. To lead them effectively, I had to have their backs, above all. I took a deep breath, and then I leaped.


	2. Red Haze

I had seen outback Australian bushfires, back on Earth, that looked peaceful and welcoming in comparison to the hellscape we landed in on Eden Prime. The _Normandy_ vanished into the thick black smoke that blanketed the sky from horizon to horizon.

Corporal Jenkins was aghast. “Oh God… what happened here?”

I had no answer.

“What the hell are those?” the Lieutenant snapped suddenly, drawing my attention to the local wildlife.

“Gas bags,” Jenkins offered a half-grin. “Don’t worry, they’re harmless.”

 I waved the ground team forward, towards the rising pillar of smoke off in the distance. Aside from our boots hitting the ground beneath us, I heard nothing but silence. It would have been serene if it wasn’t so unnerving.

As we crested the hill, movement caught my eye, and I brought the men to a halt. There was nothing ahead except for a few gas bags, fluttering in and out of the dense foliage, but I knew I’d seen something. I motioned for Jenkins to creep forward a little; between the foliage and the stony crops that popped up all over the hill, we had plenty of cover. I just needed to see what was behind the next corner and we were good to go.

The drones erupted out of the hillside before I got the chance. Jenkins saw them, too. He opened fire and before I could order his ass back in line he’d been gunned down. I can still see it – the way his body trembled, held upright by the force of the bullets that were tearing through his armour like Swiss cheese. And when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, he just slumped to the ground, unmoving.

Alenko covered me as I rolled across the dirt to duck behind the next rock. I hurled a warp field at the closest drone, the pounding headache that resulted only serving to make me angrier. When the sound of live fire had stopped echoing around me, I crept towards Jenkins.

A long time ago, before Akuze, some nameless rank above me had told me that once you’ve seen a soldier die, you’ve seen them all die. At the time I thought he was a callous wanker, and that there was no way I could ever be as hardened or as unfeeling as he was. I wish that I had never found the truth in his words, but I did, and I still did, every time I saw a comrade fall in battle. He’d meant that when you see a soldier die beside you, you don’t just see their face. You see all the faces, all the men and women that you’ve served with, all the people that have given their lives. When one soldier dies, you see all of them again.

That was what I saw when I looked down at Jenkins’ body. All the death I’d ever seen.

Alenko reached out to close the boy’s eyes. “Ripped right through his shields. Never had a chance.” He shook his head, looking up at me.

“We’ll see that he received a proper service once the mission is complete. But I need you to stay focused.” Life in the service is an ungrateful bitch, but it was the life I chose. The life Jenkins had given his own for. I couldn’t – wouldn’t – let that go to waste.

“Aye, aye, ma’am.”

We pushed on, up the next hill, encountering more drones as we went. There was something off about them; they didn’t look like any technology I was familiar with. But, this was the galaxy. There was always something new out there, something we’d never seen. And they weren’t impervious to bullets or biotics, so for now, I was satisfied.

“I’ve got some burned out buildings here, Shepard.” Nihlus’ voice crackled over the radio. “A lot of bodies. I’m going to check it out. I’ll try to catch up with you at the dig site.”

It wasn’t long afterwards that Alenko and I found our first signs of civilisation. Bodies, shrivelled and black and turned to crisps.

“Smells like smoke, and death.” He observed quietly.

We heard gunfire over the next hill and began running, finding trouble just in time. A panicked marine tripped over a large protruding root and fired up at several drones, crawling backwards on her ass. She was a hell of a shot, two out of three drones exploded violently before Alenko and I even began firing, but what drew our attention after that turned my blood to ice.

Two bipedal organisms had set up a metal structure and were draping the stunned body of a soldier over it. His neck flailed violently, he was still alive! A deadly sharp pike erupted from the structure, impaling his body. Blood dripped down the steel, and his agonised screams died with him. The organisms were communicating; vocalising a kind of electronic chirping. The marine found her feet and made a break for it, distracting them.

I found one of the creatures’ heads in the scope of my rifle and fired, breathing out as the shot knocked it down. The second creature put up some kind of static force field, more technology I was unfamiliar with. I fired a round at it and it flickered, weakened, but still standing. It took two more shots to bring it down and I heard Alenko’s assault rifle erupt from cover not too far ahead of me.

When the perimeter was clear, we rounded on the marine. To my surprise, it was the same marine I’d seen on the _Normandy_ ; I recognised the magenta and white Phoenix armour.

“Thanks for your help, Commander.” She nodded at my rank, welded to my chestplate. “I didn’t think I was going to make it. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the two-twelve. You’re the one in charge here, ma’am?”

Conspicuous armour or not, Chief Williams understood protocol. I was one man down, and if Williams had been assigned here, she could probably navigate the area better than my armour’s sensors.

“Are you wounded, Williams?” I demanded. She’d be no good to me if she slowed us down.

“A few scrapes and burns. Nothing serious. The others weren’t so lucky.” She looked behind her, suddenly. “Oh, man… we were patrolling the perimeter when the attack hit. We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut off our communications. I’ve been fighting for my life ever since.”

“Where’s the rest of your squad?” I knew Anderson had said that finding survivors was a secondary objective, but I couldn’t just leave soldiers out here to die, set up against… those _things._

Williams’ face turned to ash. “We tried to double back to the beacon. But we walked into an ambush. I don’t think any of the others… I think I’m the only one left.”

 _Oh my God._ Survivor’s guilt was a hell of a thing, I knew that better than anyone. “This isn’t your fault, Williams. You couldn’t have done anything to save them.” I echoed the old platitude, knowing how little it helped but needing to try.

“Yes, ma’am. We held our position for as long as we could. Until the geth overwhelmed us.”

 _What the fuck?!_ I thought, startled. _Did she say –_

“The geth haven’t been seen outside the Veil in nearly two hundred years!” Alenko was as alarmed as I was. “Why are they here now?”

“They must have come for the beacon,” Williams shrugged helplessly. “The dig site is close. Just over that rise. It might still be there.”

I took a chance. “We could use your help, Williams.” I blurted out.

“Aye, aye, ma’am. It’s time for payback.” There was fire in her eyes, and steel in her voice. That was how I needed her, strong and willing. There would be time for grief and blame later.

“What else do you know about the geth?” I wanted to know. My mind was still reeling from the shock. I had no idea what to think. Where was Nihlus? We had to catch up with him. We needed to regroup and reassess the situation.

“Just what I remember from history class back in school. They’re synthetics. Non-organic life-forms with limited AI programming created by the quarians a few centuries ago.” _Damn._ Nothing I didn’t already know. “They were supposed to be a source of cheap labour but ended up turning on the quarians and drove them into exile. After that, they just kind of disappeared behind the Perseus Veil. Nobody’s really heard from them since.”

And for a good reason, AI were dangerous. A highly respected N7 had been dishonourably discharged not long ago for illegal research into artificial intelligence. I felt like I was grasping at straws, trying to find a connection. “Tell me everything you know about the beacon,” I ordered, frustrated.

“They were doing some digging here to extend the monorail and expand the colony. A few weeks ago, they unearthed some Prothean ruins, and the beacon. Suddenly, every scientific expert in the colony was interested. That’s when they brought us in to secure the site. I don’t know much about the beacon itself. But, I heard one of the researches say this could be the biggest scientific discovery of the century.”

 _Maybe the scientists could shed some light here._ “What happened to the researchers at the dig site?”

Williams looked as frustrated as I felt. “I don’t know. They set up camp near the beacon. The two thirty-two was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine.”

“Describe what happened leading up to the attack?”

“We were sent out a couple nights ago from the main colony – to secure the area,” she began walking me through it. “Seemed like a routine patrol until the geth hit us. We never knew they were coming.”

“Have you seen a turian Spectre around here?” I asked her, wondering if Nihlus had passed her somewhere along the way.

Her gaze sharpened. “There aren’t any turians on Eden Prime.” She told me, jaw set. “None that I’ve ever met. Not sure I’d be able to tell if one was a Spectre, anyway.”

“If you saw this guy you’d know. Carries enough firepower to wipe out a whole platoon.” Alenko exhaled through his nose. Catching Williams’ glare, he hastily continued. “Luckily, he’s on our side.”

“Sorry.” She shook her head. “Like I said. No turians.”

“Move out,” I ordered the pair ahead of me.

“The beacon’s at the far end of this trench,” Williams told us, leading the way.

We passed more pikes as we walked, the bodies of soldiers dangling perilously from the tips. Grimly, I wondered how gravity didn’t wrench them back down to the earth, slowly pulling them apart. I called a halt as we approached the Prothean ruins. From the ground, they looked huge, soaring into the smoke-filled sky above us. From where I stood, the air was so thick with black smog you couldn’t see the tops.

We approached cautiously, weapons drawn. We opened fire on several geth troopers as we approached. I discovered that a well-tossed grenade brought down their strange electro-static shields effectively. Geth weren’t impervious to biotics, either, I found out, as I choreographed a lift-and-throw manoeuvre with Alenko. I was pleasantly surprised to find out I had another biotic on my team.

“Perimeter secure,” he nodded in my direction, holstering his rifle.

In the ruins, there were more pikes, lining the walls in a macabre semicircle.

“Impaling victims instead of just shooting them… there must be some reason behind it,” Williams’ stood at the foot of one of the structures, gazing up.

Alenko was nudging a geth unit with his boot. “Classic psychological warfare. They’re using terror as a weapon.”

That was an alarming thought. Could artificial intelligence understand terror? Could they weaponize it? Did they understand the psychological implication? I wasn’t cold, but I shivered. There was no sign of the beacon.

“This is the dig site!” Williams was angry. “The beacon was right here. It must have been moved!”

“By who?” Alenko demanded. “Our side? Or the geth?”

“Hard to say. Maybe we’ll know more after we check out the research camp.”

“You think anyone got out of here alive?” After everything we’d seen already, I was starting to feel sceptical.

Williams looked at me, helpless. “If they were lucky. Maybe hiding up in the camp. It’s just on the top of this ridge. Up the ramps.”

My radio pinged, spooking me. “Change of plans, Shepard.” Nihlus intoned, as I was getting over my shock. “There’s a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I’ll wait for you there.”

I hesitated. I was anxious to meet back up with Nihlus. Things here weren’t right, and while I felt like I had a decent handle on things, having a Council Spectre on my back would be a huge weight off my shoulders. But Williams was right, if anyone from the science team had survived the attack, their lives were depending on quick and thorough extraction. The mission was even more complicated now; any small amount of information could be the difference between dying here on Eden Prime and having the upper hand against the geth. Not only was I responsible for the researchers’ lives now, but I owed it to my team. We were getting off this planet, and there would be no more casualties. Not if I had anything to say about it.

Without another word, I lead the way up the ramps.

“Looks like they hit the camp hard,” the chief’s depression was easy to read.

Alenko appeared at my shoulder, eyes scanning ahead. “It’s a good place for an ambush,” he murmured. “Keep your guard up.”

I checked my shields. We crept through the camp cautiously. Steel screeched against steel, and the geth pikes on the peripheral began to shudder and withdraw on themselves.

“Oh, God!” the lieutenant’s voice was filled with horror. “They’re still alive!”

He was half-right. The mangled bodies of the fallen jerked upright. The holes in their skin had been filled with glistening silver and blue wiring, connecting old tissue to new hardware. They moved on us like zombies from an old vid, lurching into runs at inhuman speeds, limbs flailing in impossible angles.

“What did the geth do to them?” Williams wailed; these had been her comrades, her friends. The soldiers and scientists she’d worked alongside.

One of them lunged at me and detonated an intense electromagnetic pulse that knocked out my shields. Frantic, I opened a singularity between my team and them, stunning them and drawing them towards us, immobilised. The three of us fired, round after round until the things exploded into blue-green slush, pooling on the ground in watery chunks.

“Negative contacts, commander,” Williams eye-balled me, and I hastily holstered my pistol. I had seen enough weird shit for one day, it was starting to get to me.

Two out of five research bunkers looked intact- _ish_. I approached with extreme caution. The northern unit was empty, bar a cabinet full of mixed ammunition and explosives. The eastern unit was locked up, but it was a simple program that was easy to bypass with my omni-tool.

“Humans! Thank the Maker!”

“Hurry! Close the door! Before they come back!”

We’d found the survivors.

“Don’t worry,” I tried to reassure them. “We’ll protect you.”

“Thankyou,” the woman replied. “I think we’ll be okay now. It looks like everyone’s gone.” 

“You’re doctor Warren!” Williams exclaimed. “The one in charge of the excavation? Do you know what happened to the beacon?”

“It was moved to the spaceport this morning. Manuel and I stayed behind to help pack up the camp.”

I breathed a sigh of relief. If the beacon was at the spaceport, and Nihlus had gone to the spaceport, then the beacon was safe from the geth – at least for now. We should be able to get it off-world without much more difficulty.

“When the attack came, the marines held them off long enough for us to hide. They gave their lives to save us.” Doctor Warren looked exhausted, and utterly defeated.

“No one is saved!” the man snapped. “The age of humanity is ended. Soon, only ruin and corpses will remain.”

“What’s wrong with your assistant?” I snapped. The hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end.

Warren wrung her hands. “Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he’s always been a bit… unstable. Genius and madness are two sides of the same coin,” she tried to explain.

“Is it madness to see the future? To see the destruction, rushing towards us? To understand there is no escape? No hope? No, I am not mad. I’m the only sane one left!” Manuel’s insistence was unsettling. I glanced at Alenko for reassurance, but his eyes were fixed on Manuel.

“I gave him an extra dose of his meds after the attack,” the doctor admitted.

“What else can you tell me about the attack?” We were still getting nowhere.

She gazed at a point somewhere over my shoulder, eyes faraway. “It all happened so fast. One second, we were gathering up our equipment. The next we were hiding in the shed while the geth swarmed over the camp.”

“Agents of the destroyers. Bringers of darkness. Heralds of our extinction!” Manuel hissed, but Warren ignored him.

“We could hear the battle outside. Gunfire, screaming. I thought it would never end. Then, everything went quiet. We just sat there, too afraid to move. Until you came along.” Her eyes fixed on mine, desperate.

I was feeling pretty desperate myself. “Can you tell me anything about the beacon?”

“It’s some type of data module from a galaxy wide communications network. Remarkably well-preserved. It could be the greatest scientific discovery of our lifetime! Miraculous new technologies, ground-breaking medical advances… who knows what secrets are locked inside?”

 “We have unearthed the heart of evil! Awakened the beast! Unleashed the darkness…” Manuel interrupted.

Warren jumped, hands balling into fists. “Manuel, please. This isn’t the time,” she pleaded with him.

“Did you notice a turian in the area?” I wanted to know. The whole affair was beginning to feel like an interrogation.

Manuel practically leapt into my face. “I saw him! The prophet! Leader of the enemy. He was here, before the attack!”

Alenko leapt immediately to our Spectre’s defence. “That’s impossible! Nihlus was with us on the _Normandy_ before the attack. He couldn’t have been here.”

Warren was apologetic. “I’m sorry. Manuel’s still a bit… unsettled. We haven’t seen your turian. We’ve been hiding in here since the attack.”

I nodded. I’d heard enough. “Williams, take us to the spaceport.”

Manuel tugged on my elbow. “You can’t stop it! Nobody can stop it. Night is falling. The darkness of eternity!” I flinched, wrenching my arm away.

The doctor caught him roughly. “Hush Manuel. Go lie down. You’ll feel better once the medication kicks in.” she ushered him towards the bunk, murmuring soothingly as we departed.

Over the ridge, I could see the spaceport in the distance. A single gun-shot rang out, echoing over the hills.

 

~

 

“What is that?” Alenko demanded. “Off in the distance?”

“It’s a ship!” Williams exclaimed. “Look at the size of it!”

My heart dropped out of my chest and landed somewhere between my boots. It was the ship from the vid, the one I’d thought was a grasping gauntlet. I’d been terribly, horribly wrong.

Against the bloody silhouette of the sky, it looked like a ghastly great roach. The proportions were all wrong for a ship; and it was vertically oriented on the ground, looking for all the world like a vulture perched on high above its prey. Red static electricity swirled over the hull and the phalange-like ‘legs’. Everything about it felt off; just looking at it was making me sick to my stomach and my brain was pounding so hard in my skull I thought it might start dribbling out of my ear.

It launched into the air, black smoke swirling around it, and disappeared into the atmosphere, but I could still feel it there, almost like a physical presence, bearing down on us. _And the noise it made!_ Screeching so ear-piercingly terrible it felt like an act of physical violence, a sound that felt like it might penetrate your skin and splinter your bones.

But it didn’t, and it was gone.

“Hostile contact!” Alenko yelled, and I whipped my rifle off my back and charged ahead. The husks of the recently dead swarmed us while the geth tried to pick us off from a distance. When the gunfire ceased, we headed directly east. There was another intact bunker just outside the spaceport, and my team needed to regroup and cool off. Maybe Nihlus would be waiting for us there.

The bunker, however, was locked, but Alenko made short work of it with his omni-tool. I let him take the initiative, trying to gulp down some water while I had the chance.

“Everybody stay calm!” a man’s voice called out, muffled, as the lieutenant cracked the lock. “We’re coming out! We’re not armed!”

 _Great._ More civilians. Just what we needed.

“Is it safe?” a woman asked us anxiously. “Are they gone?”

“You’re okay now. Nobody’s going to hurt you.” I reaffirmed.

“Those things were crawling all around the shed. They would have found us for sure. We owe you our lives!”

“I – I still can’t believe it,” the woman’s eyes scanned the sky. I didn’t need to ask what she was looking for. “When we saw that ship, I thought it was all over.”

“It showed up right before the attack. Knew it was trouble the second I saw it. So, we made a break for the sheds.”

Maybe they’d seen something. I sighed, I was starting to sound like a broken holo. “Tell me everything you remember about the attack,” I asked the skinny one. He looked like their leader.

“The three of us were working the crops when that ship showed up. We just saw it and ran. I don’t know what happened to the rest of the crew.” He looked around, as though they might suddenly pop up out of the grass.

“They were by the garage,” the short man piped up, pointing. “Over by the spaceport. Right where that ship came down. No way they survived.”

“You don’t know that!” the woman protested shrilly. “We survived. If they made it to the garage, they could’ve had a fighting chance!”

“What else can you tell me about the ship you saw?” I directed my question directly at the shorter man, since he seemed like an expert.

The skinny one answered instead. “I was too busy running to get a look at it. I think it landed over near the spaceport,”

“Tell them about the noise, Cole. That awful noise.” The woman interrupted.

“It was emitting some kind of signal as it descended. Sounded… like the shriek of the damned, only it was coming from inside your own head.”

I shivered. Cole’s description was accurate enough. “It was probably trying to block communications,” I suggested, mostly to myself.

“Whatever it was, felt like it was tearing right through my skull. Almost made it impossible to think.” Cole rubbed the bridge of his nose and I passed him an analgesic.

“Do you know anything about the Prothean beacon they dug up?” They were farmers, it was a long shot, but worth the ask.

“We’re just farmers,” Cole confirmed. “We heard they found something out there, but it never really mattered to us. Not until now.” He looked back at the sky, eyes fearful.

“I have to go.” I turned to the team.

“Hey, Cole. We’re just a bunch of farmers. These guys are soldiers. Maybe… we should give them the stuff.” The other man half-whispered.

I turned on my heel, teeth bared.

“Geez, Blake! You gotta learn when to shut up!”

“If there’s something you’re not telling me…” I growled at Cole, menacing. I’d had it up to here with this planet. Some fucking paradise.

He huffed, annoyed. “Some guys at the spaceport were running a small smuggling ring. Nothing major. In exchange for a cut of the profits, we let them store packages in our sheds.”

For a moment, I was actually astonished. “You greedy bastard!” I admonished. “You weren’t running for your life! You were running to check on your merchandise!”

I twitched my trigger finger and Cole threw up his hands between us. “No! It’s not like that! I just… I knew there were some packages here. Something we could use! I found a pistol. Figured it would come in handy if those things came back. But you’ll probably get more use out of it than we will.”

“I’m only going to ask you this once,” I told him seriously. “Think long and hard before you lie to me again.” Cole nodded. “Are you sure all you’ve got is one lousy pistol?”

He swallowed visibly, scratching at his receding hairline. I tapped my gun against my hip. _Tick, tock._ “Uh… Oh, wait, I just remembered.” I returned his stare, unblinking. “I just had it in my pocket. Might as well take that, too.” He reached into his pocket and passed me a combat sensor. I tossed it to Alenko without looking. “That’s everything. _Really_.”

Williams stepped in. “Who’s your contact at the spaceport, Cole? What’s his name?”

“He’s not a bad guy!” he snapped back. “I don’t want to get him in trouble. Besides, I’m not a snitch!”

I folded my arms. I had Williams’ back. “Would you rather be a snitch, or a corpse?” I offered Cole.

His reaction was immediate and predictable. “Powell! His name’s Powell!”

Williams shook her head. “No honour among thieves.”

 _Touchez pas au grisbi_ , I thought, agreeing with the sentiment.

“That’s all I know. Really. So, let’s try to keep things friendly from here on in, okay?” Poor Cole’s eye twitched. He was having a rough day.

“I have to go,” I repeated stiffly.

“Good luck,” I heard him call after us.

“Nihlus had better be waiting at the spaceport,” I grumbled to Alenko, once we were far out of earshot.

“I hear you. This day has gone from bad to worse,” he shook his head. “Did you really need to threaten that guy?”

“Sometimes soft people need harsh words to remind that reality is life and death,” Williams shot back. “Do you really think going easy on him benefits anyone in the end?”

“Up until now these people have lived quiet, peaceful lives,” Alenko countered. “Today their entire world went to hell. It’s not our job to make them feel any worse than we have to.”

Williams muttered something under her breath that I didn’t quite catch.

The lieutenant took the spaceport steps two at a time. “Commander,” he called, his voice catching. “It’s Nihlus.”

 _About time,_ I thought, joining Alenko, expectant. His face turned to the floor. Nihlus lay still, his rich, navy blood caking into the concrete underneath him. My turian was dead.

“Something’s moving! Over behind those crates!”

I didn’t look up, although Williams’ voice sounded urgent.

“Wait!” Someone else called. “Don’t shoot! I’m one of you! I’m human!”

“Sneaking up on us like that nearly got you killed,” I told the newcomer evenly. His eyes slid from Williams’ rifle to Alenko’s pistol to me. I grimaced, noticing the stain on his coveralls. _We’ve got a pisser, at twelve o’clock._ I shook my head.

“I’m sorry. I was hiding, from those creatures.” His eyes were wild. “My name’s Powell. I saw what happened to that turian. The other one shot him.”

 _Other one?_ “What the hell are you talking about?” _The prophet! Leader of the enemy!_ Manuel’s panicked voice echoed in my mind, but I shoved it out. I couldn’t think clearly; there was so much going on.

“There were two turians here. Your friend and another one he called Saren. I think they knew each other. Your friend seemed to relax. He let his guard down… and Saren killed him. Shot him right in the back. I’m just lucky he didn’t see me behind the crates.”

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. “We were told a Prothean beacon was brought to the spaceport. What happened to it?” I enunciated every word as clearly as I could manage.

“It’s over on the other platform. Probably where that guy Saren was headed. He hopped on the cargo train right after he killed your friend.” I looked down at Nihlus’ corpse. “I knew that beacon was trouble. Everything’s gone to hell since we found it. First, that damn mother ship showed up. Then the attack!” Powell was outraged. “They killed everyone. If I hadn’t been behind the crates, I’d be dead, too.”

Something didn’t add up. “How come you’re the only one who survived. Why didn’t anyone else try to hide behind the crates?”

“They never had a chance!” he began, but snapped his mouth closed suddenly and looked at his feet. “I… I was already behind the crates when the attack started.”

The lieutenant intervened before I could open my mouth. “Wait a minute. You were hiding behind the crates, before the attack?”

Tears welled up in Powell’s eyes. “I… sometimes I need a nap to get through my shift. I sneak off behind the crates to grab forty winks where the supervisor can’t find me.

Williams was furious. “You survived because you’re lazy?” her eyes were narrowed into slits.

“If you hadn’t snuck off for that nap, you’d be dead. Just like all the others.” I shook my head.

“Yeah. Yeah, I guess. I don’t really want to think about it…” he trailed off.

I changed the subject. “Your Cole’s contact here on the docks. For the smuggling ring.”

“What? No! I mean, what does it matter now? So, I’m a smuggler? Who cares?” Powell’s eyebrows disappeared right up into his beanie. “My supervisor’s dead, the entire crew is dead… it doesn’t matter now, does it?”

“Anything hidden nearby that we could use against the geth?”

“A shipment of grenades came through last week. Nobody notices if a few small pieces go missing from the military orders.”

Williams’ eyes near bugged out of her head. “You greedy son of a bitch!” she swore. “We’re out here trying to protect your sorry ass and all you can think about is how you can rip us off?”

“I never thought you’d actually need those grenades! Who’d want to attack Eden Prime? We’re just a bunch of farmers! How was I supposed to know?”

“Hand over those grenades, Powell. Now.” I was done negotiating.

Powell stumbled over a crate behind him and dragged a heavier one out for us. “They’re yours. Take them. My smuggling days are over, I swear.”

I aimed my pistol right between his eyes. I was fucking _done._ “Too many people died here for you to start jerking me around!”

“OKAY!” It might have been a trick of the light, but I could almost swear that the stain on Powell’s coveralls began to spread. “All right. There was something else. Could be worth a fortune. Experimental technology. Top of the line.” He pulled a biotic amplifier out of his breast pocket. “Take it. I don’t need it. I didn’t want anyone to get hurt. Really. I’m sorry.”

Tears were streaming down his face. I turned to the team, away from the steaming pile of pathetic that was Powell. “We need to find that beacon before it’s too late,” I announced.

“Take the cargo train,” the smuggler piped up behind me. “That’s where the other turian went. I can’t stay here. I need to get away from all this.”

I didn’t watch, but I heard him trip over again as he left the spaceport. Electronic humming alerted the three of us to the geth presence, and we fought our way across the dock to the platform. More geth blocked the way, but the shipping crates provided plenty of cover. An extremely large geth with a missile launcher proved problematic, but Alenko and I staggered it with a biotic throw while Williams tossed several grenades ahead of our position, toppling the creature in a staggering explosion.

The train ride was short, but long enough for me to get lost in my thoughts. Earth. Akuze. Eden Prime. Was it me? Was I death, spreading a plague of blood and violence everywhere I went? Or did it merely follow me, a haunting killer? Would it ever take me, or was I merely a witness to the destruction of everything worth caring about? The life I was living was pure madness, with no end in sight. I was afraid for Kaidan and Ashley. Somehow, I knew I’d survive. But unless I got my team off this planet alive, it wouldn’t be worth it. I had to be stronger. I had to be better.

I stumbled a little as the cargo train came to a halt. Alenko leapt over the railing onto the platform. “Demolition charges! The geth must have planted them!”

“Hurry! We need to find them all and shut them down!” Williams’ voice carried a note of panic.

I met the lieutenant’s eyes. “Can you do it?” I asked?

He swallowed and nodded; and knelt beside the bomb while Williams and I covered him. There was no sign of geth, but they weren’t far ahead. We covered Alenko from fire as he disabled a second charge and joined me in a colossal biotic throw; lifting three units off the platform and tossing them over the edge.

The third bomb wasn’t far from the second – the geth were in a hurry. I began to sweat as I opened a singularity, letting Williams pick off the smaller ones with her shotgun. The fourth one almost didn’t register on my sensors – the geth had hidden it behind a crate of missiles to mask the energy signature, but Alenko got to work disabling it immediately and we were able to press on ahead. We moved off the platform towards the dock, where husks began swarming. We doubled back to find cover. A particularly tenacious creature detonated its EMP within close range of Williams, knocking her flat on her back. Alenko immobilised it while I warped it. Warm, sticky liquid began trickling down my lip from my nose and I wiped it, smearing blood over my visor accidentally, covering everything in a red haze.

At last, we’d reached the beacon. A green signal shot up into the sky only to be engulfed by smoke clouds; smoke clouds that were violently spewing up from the ground beyond the dock. Cautiously, we approached the railing and peered over.

“My God…” Williams’ voice was hushed. “It’s like someone dropped a bomb.”

She was right. The land there was black and scorched, a hideous scar twined with pulsing red veins.

“That must be where the geth ship landed,” Alenko observed pertinently, his eyes dark.

The rail line was bent and twisted out of shape, like bright silver thorns cutting across the dark crater. But where the ship had docked – if you could call it that – there was nothing. No signs of industrialism, no melted steel, nothing. I had no idea what kind of ship could cause damage like that. We had no precedent for this kind of damage. It was alien, utterly foreign, and the picture I was building in my head of this thing and what it could do was terrifying.

“ _Normandy_. The beacon is secure. Request immediate evac.” _Emphasis on the evac_. I began casing the perimeter for a landing.

“Shepard, this is _Normandy_. We are three minutes thirty seconds out. Stand-by for evacuation.”

There was so much static I couldn’t tell if it was Joker or Anderson. “Roger, _Normandy_. Standing-by.” Confident, I looked back over at Williams and Alenko.

A greenish haze enveloped the lieutenant and was pulling him forward, towards the beacon.

I didn’t think. I dove, shoving Williams aside and hurling Alenko across the dock. I wrestled with the haze, but I was stuck fast, trapped in the light. I remember my feet leaving the floor. I remember the crunching feeling of my spine curling over on itself, every vertebra grinding against the one before it, every nerve ending screaming as though I were being wrung out to dry. I remember choking on the ash-filled air. Then everything went black.


	3. Interspecies Cooperation

_Everything was black. Was I still on Eden Prime? I couldn’t remember. A massive red star burst to life a great distance away from where I was standing, but I still felt the warmth on my skin as the shockwave blasted over me._

_I looked at my hand. Curious. That kind of radiation should have blistered my skin; burned my body away until I was nothing but ashes. I was drifting through space. Not space as I knew it, alight with stars and clouds and stellar objects, but the kind of space that exists only in the subconscious – deep, all-consuming, empty._

_I wasn’t alone – I was being chased. By what? I couldn’t see, I didn’t know, but I felt the fear of the unknown._

_There was more. I felt sorrow. Something had been taken from me, but what? Everything. I had lost something – I didn’t know what – but it was gone, all gone until all that was left was rage._

_Not hot, blind rage. Cold, tempered. I knew what I had to do. My enemies would know vengeance at last, but not before I embraced the pain._

_I could feel hot breath on my neck, behind me. It was here now. I had to go._

~

 

“Doctor? Doctor Chakwas I think she’s waking up.”

I knew the voice, and the name, but I couldn’t place it. It felt like my brain was swimming in a hot soup. I looked around, blurry eyed, and immediately regretted it as bright lights flashed before my eyes, blinding me.

“You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?”

The doctor’s voice was like needles being stabbed into my ears. I groaned, holding my head. “Like the morning after shore leave.” My palms were cool and clammy, and I pressed them against my eyes to soothe the pounding. “How long was I out?”

I could feel Chakwas checking my blood pressure. “About fifteen hours. Something happened down there, with the beacon. I think.” She looked dubiously at Alenko, passing me an analgesic.

He was on his feet instantly. “It’s my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way.”

 _Well, I didn’t have to, but it seemed like a nice idea at the time,_ I thought rudely. “You had no way of knowing what would happen,” I tried to shrug, wincing.

“Actually, we don’t even know if that’s what set it off. Unfortunately, we’ll never get the chance to find out.” Chakwas raised her eyebrows at Alenko.

He cleared his throat. “The beacon exploded. A system overload, maybe. The blast knocked you cold. Williams and I had to carry you back here to the ship.”

 _Fuck. The mission._ “I don’t suppose it occurred to you that Eden Prime has medical facilities?” I snapped. The brass wasn’t going to be happy when they read our mission reports.

“Listen. You’re better off in this infirmary than in any hospital on Eden Prime,” Chakwas told me sternly. I felt my spine straighten a little; I wasn’t used to being admonished like a small child. “Physically, you’re fine, but I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming.” She glared at me, expectantly.

 _I was dreaming._ “I saw… I’m not sure what I saw. There was death. Destruction. Nothing’s really clear.” One by one, I could feel the hairs on my arms and neck beginning to stand up. It was cool in the infirmary, but that wasn’t what made me shiver.

“Hmm.” She looked down, tapping her omni-tool. “I better add this to my report. It may – oh. Captain Anderson.”

I slid off the stretcher and stood at attention.

“How’s our XO holding up, doctor?” the captain wanted to know.

She shrugged. “All the readings look normal. I’d say the commander’s going to be fine.”

“Glad to hear it.” He turned to me. “Shepard. I need to speak with you – in private.”

“Aye, aye, captain.” Alenko snapped a salute. “I’ll be in the mess if you need me.” The doctor followed him out.

“Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you’re okay?” he asked, the door closing behind the crew.

“I don’t like soldiers dying under my command,” I looked away.

Anderson shook his head. “Jenkins wasn’t your fault. You did a good job, Shepard.”

I exhaled. It was such a cliché, but what else could he say? “Did we leave Gunnery Chief Williams back on Eden Prime?” I changed the subject.

“I figured we could use a soldier like her. She’s been reassigned to the _Normandy_.”

That was something. “Williams is a good soldier. She deserves it.”

“Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you. That’s why I added her to our crew.”

“Intel dropped the ball, sir. We had no idea what we were walking into down there. That’s why things went to hell.” With my headache beginning to subside, I was ready to argue. Someone had hell to pay.

“The geth haven’t been seen outside the Veil in two centuries, Commander,” Anderson reminded me. “Nobody could have predicted this.”

“You said you needed to speak to me in private, Captain?” I had a few things to say, off the record.

The captain folded his arms behind him, his mouth a tight line. “I won’t lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead. The beacon was destroyed, and geth are invading. The Council’s going to want answers.”

 _Nihlus._ My chest ached as it all flooded back. In my mind I pictured it again – his corpse sprawled against the filthy dock, dark blue blood a spreading stain on the concrete. I had so many questions, so many things to say that I couldn’t. In a few short hours he’d gone from a one-night stand to an unsettling presence, to a future mentor, a role model. And just as quickly as he’d come into my life he was gone. With him, a future. Where did that leave me now?

“I didn’t do anything wrong, Captain,” I answered, with a bravado I didn’t feel. “Hopefully, the Council can see that.”

“I’ll stand behind you and your report, Shepard.” He began to pace. “you’re a damned hero in my books. That’s not why I’m here. It’s Saren. That other turian.” My face remained blank and he continued. “Saren’s a Spectre. One of the best. A living legend. But if he’s working with the geth, it means he’s gone rogue. A rogue Spectre’s trouble. Saren’s dangerous. And he hates humans.”

“Why?”

“He thinks we’re growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most of them don’t do anything about it. But Saren has allied himself with the geth. I don’t know how. I don’t know why. I only know it had something to do with that beacon. You were there just before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?”

The urgency in his voice and the intensity in his dark eyes made me give it away. “Just before I lot consciousness, I had some kind of…” I hesitated. People were going to think I was fucking crazy. “ _vision._ ” I managed finally, wincing. _Back to the psych ward for you!_ I told myself.

To my surprise, the captain didn’t seem at all fazed. “A vision? A vision of what?”

I tried to remember. “I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people. Butchering them.”

“We need to report this to the Council, Shepard.”

I was instantly defensive. “They’ll think I’m crazy!” I protested.

“We don’t know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war! He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of geth at his command. And he won’t stop until he’s wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!”

Anderson’s speech filled me with desperate loathing. “I’ll find someway to take him down,” I half-muttered under my breath.

He shook his head again, as I knew he would. “It’s not that easy. He’s a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That’s why we need the Council on our side.”

I swallowed. “We prove Saren’s gone rogue and the Council will revoke his Spectre status?” My hope was marginal compared to my scepticism.

“I’ll contact the ambassador and I’ll see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He’ll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel. We should be getting close.” He checked his omni-tool. “Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in to dock.”

I bumped in to the lieutenant in the mess.

“Commander. I’m glad to see you’re okay. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew. And I’m glad we didn’t lose you, too.”

To his credit, his relief seemed genuine. “Things were pretty rough down there,” I agreed.

“Yeah. You never get used to seeing dead civilians. Doesn’t seem right, somehow. But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the whole colony.”

He was right. It was no small feat, what we’d achieved. “I couldn’t have done it without you.” I told him, and I meant it.

Alenko raised an eyebrow. “We’re marines. We stick together. I’m just sorry we lost Jenkins.” He looked at the floor.

“Yeah.” It didn’t feel good. “I wish I could’ve done something to save him.” I saw his body again, twitching in the air as gun fire tore him to shreds.

“I was there, you did everything right. It was just bad luck,” he told me earnestly. “It’s been a hell of a shakedown cruise. Our first mission ends up with one Spectre killing another. The Citadel Council’s not gonna be happy about that. Probably use it to lever more concessions out of the Alliance.” He ran a hand through his hair, static crackling over his skin.

It was funny how just a small gesture can bring back the most insignificant memories. A felt a lump forming in my throat and steered my mind away. “You’ve got a good grasp of the situation. You a career man?”

Alenko snorted. “Yeah. A lot of biotics are. We’re not restricted, but we sure don’t go undocumented. May as well get a paycheck for it. Besides, my father served. Made him proud when I enlisted, eventually. But is that why you’re here? Because of your family?”

A distant alarm bell went off in my head. “Couldn’t keep me out if you tried. Best way to explore the galaxy is behind a cannon.” I lied.

He perked up. “Is that how you got here? I heard about Akuze. I bet you had your pick of posts after that.”

 _Yeah, a year of psych evals and studying at Vila Militar wasn’t exactly what I’d call my ‘pick of posts’,_ I wanted to say, but I didn’t see the point.

Thankfully, I didn’t get the chance. “Word is, we’re heading for the Citadel, ma’am. Can you tell me why?”

I probably shouldn’t have said anything, but I liked Alenko. He proved on Eden Prime he was a capable soldier, and if we were going to be serving together under Anderson, it wouldn’t hurt to get along with the rest of the crew. “The captain hopes the Ambassador can get an audience with the Council. Tell them what Saren’s been up to.”

“Makes sense. They’d probably like to know he’s not working for them anymore. Whatever happens, we’ll be ready, Commander.”

I stopped to grab a couple of things from my locker. Doctor Chakwas was waiting.

“So, how did you end up serving on an Alliance ship?” I asked her casually. She was an older woman, with silver hair cut short in a no-nonsense kind of way, with bright, shrewd eyes that looked like they’d seen everything under the sun that there was to be seen, and then some.

Her mouth twisted up in a smile. “I enlisted right out of med school. Earth always seemed boring to me… too safe, too secure. I figured the colonies were teeming with exotic adventure.” She tucked her hair behind her ear, eyes far away. “I wanted to travel the stars, tending the wounds of tough soldiers with piercing eyes and sensitive souls. Turns out military life isn’t quite as romantic as I’d imagined.” She looked back at me. “But, humanity needs the Alliance if we want to keep expanding through the Traverse, and the Alliance always needs good doctors. So, I stayed on to do my part.”

I leaned against the lockers. “Ever think you made the wrong choice?”

She shrugged. “Sometimes I think about opening a private practice back on Earth, or maybe taking a position at one of the new med centres out in the colonies. But there’s something special about working on soldiers. If I left the Alliance now, I’d feel like I was abandoning them.”

“What do you know about Captain Anderson?” I got the impression they had worked together before.

“I’ve served with him for a few tours now,” she confirmed my suspicions. “He knows when to let things slide and when to crack the whip. The crew knows he’s seen pretty much anything they’ll ever run in to. And, he cares about the people under his command.” Her gaze sharpened on mine, knowingly.

My eyes flickered back to Alenko, still at the table over the other side of the mess. “How well do you know the lieutenant?” I queried, voice low.

“I’d never worked with him before this mission. But he has an impressive service record. Over a dozen special commendations. Tends to keep to himself, though. Maybe because of the headaches. It’s not easy being an L2.”

I was confused. “What does that have to do with it?”

Chakwas blinked. “Well, most biotics now use the L3 implants.” She tapped my head gently with a finger. “Lieutenant Alenko was wired with the old L2 configuration. Sometimes there are complications.”

My heart began to pound. “What kind of complications?”

She listed them off on her fingers. “Severe mental disabilities. Insanity. Crippling, physical pain. There’s a long list of horrific side effects. Kaidan’s lucky. He just gets migraines.”

I was reeling. “I should go,” I told the doctor, and headed for the bridge. I felt horribly sick. I’d never heard of L2 biotics having issues. I’d never considered it; never investigated it. _If I had…_ I was so lost in my own thoughts I walked straight into Williams, stumbling in the stairwell.

“I’m glad you’re okay, Commander. The crew could use some good news after what happened to Jenkins.”

“Jenkins was a valuable part of this crew,” I replied automatically.

She folded her arms. “Part of me feels guilty over what happened. If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here.”

“You’re a good soldier, Williams. You belong on the _Normandy_.”

We shook hands. “Thanks, Commander. I appreciate that.”

“Things were pretty rough down there,” I heard myself repeating. “Are you okay?”

Williams’ face dropped. “I’ve seen friends die before. Comes with being a marine. But to see my whole unit wiped out…” my chest tightened. I felt for her, I really did. I’d been there on Akuze. Surviving could be a terrible burden. “And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But things would have been a lot worse if you hadn’t shown up.”

“We couldn’t have done it without you, Williams.”

“Thanks, Commander.” She said again. “I have to admit, I was a little worried about being assigned to the _Normandy_. It’s nice when someone makes you feel welcome.”

I nodded. “Everyone on this ship has to do his or her part, Williams. Remember that.” I swept past, towards the bridge.

“Understood, ma’am.”

In the CIC, I waved over to Pressly.  “I’m glad you’re okay, Commander. Losing Jenkins was hard enough on the crew.” He called.

I’d spent so much emotional energy being worried about working in a team over the last week or so that I’d forgotten how good it could feel. I was starting to feel like less of an unknown outsider and more like I belonged here. The ship was small, but everyone had a place, and the crew was cohesive and well-rounded. The last few years had been difficult but rewarding. If being a part of the _Normandy’s_ crew was the pay-out, it might just have been worth all the tough times.

“Good timing, Commander,” Joker looked up as I reached the cockpit. “I was just about to bring us in to the Citadel. See all that taxpayer money at work.”

We glided out of the relay into the Serpent Nebula, where the Citadel was wrapped in helio-synchronous orbit with a star called the Widow. From behind the windshield, I could see the Destiny Ascension drifting majestically across our field of view.

“Look at the size of that ship!” Williams and Alenko joined us, chattering excitedly.

“The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet,” Alenko brought her up to speed.

Joker snorted. “Size isn’t everything.” He scoffed.

“Why so touchy, Joker?” Williams was grinning from ear to ear.

The pilot looked rattled. “I’m just saying. You need firepower, too.”

Williams thrust a finger at it. “Look at that monster! Its main gun could rip through the barriers on any ship in the Alliance fleet!”

“Good thing it’s on our side, then,” the lieutenant remarked.

“Citadel Control, this is _SSV Normandy,_ requesting permission to land.” Joker’s face was smug.

“Stand by for clearance, _Normandy_.” A voice droned back. “Clearance granted. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator.”

“Roger, Alliance Tower. _Normandy_ out.”

“ _Normandy_ , this is Alliance Tower. Please proceed to dock four-two-two.”

The _Normandy_ hummed pleasantly as Joker brought her in gently. We watched the Citadel shields engulf the ship and felt the rattle as the airlock descended.

“And that’s how it’s done,” Joker grinned up at me. “I’d crack my knuckles with satisfaction, but, you know.”

I opened my mouth to tell him I had no idea what he was talking about, but Captain Anderson appeared behind us. “Shepard. Alenko, Williams. The Ambassador has requested we head straight to his office. We’re already behind schedule.”

“Bring me back something nice!” Joker called after us.

 

~

 

I couldn’t believe how peaceful it was. There were green parklands and blue skies and sparkling lakes. I was dying to get out of the Ambassador’s office and stretch my legs, but when we’d arrived, he’d been trading insults over the holo-comm with what appeared to be the Council.

“This is an outrage!” Udina shouted. “The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony!”

I leaned further over the balcony and tried to tune him out.

“The turians don’t found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador.” The salarian representative huffed back.

“Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse,” the Asari councillor reprimanded.

Ambassador Udina was red in the face. “What about Saren? You can’t just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action!”

“You don’t get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador!” the turian councillor’s fury matched Udina’s in pitch and tone.

“Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before.” The asari was firm. The holo-comm flickered and dissolved into nothing.

“Captain Anderson.” Udina looked down his nose at the captain, speaking through his gritted teeth. “I see you’ve brought half your crew with you.” He glared up at me, sharply.

“Just the ground team from Eden Prime,” Anderson explained patiently. “In case you had any questions.”

“I have the mission reports,” he snapped back. “I assume they’re accurate?”

I wondered how so much anger could fit inside one tiny little man.

“They are. Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience.” The captain gestured at the holo-comm.

“They were not happy about it. Saren’s their top agent. They don’t like him being accused of treason.” He folded his arms across his portly little body.

I frowned. “I’m not going to sit on my ass just because the Council doesn’t want to do anything. If they won’t stop Saren, I will.”

“Settle down, Commander. You’ve already done more than enough to jeopardise your candidacy for the Spectres. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done! Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!”

My bravado shrivelled up a little.

“That’s Saren’s fault, not hers!” Anderson interjected, and I was grateful.

“Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations.” Udina didn’t sound hopeful. “Otherwise, the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres.” I was starting to feel like maybe that wouldn’t be such a sad thing. “Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard, you, and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I’ll make sure you have clearance to get in.”

My omni-tool pinged – a countdown until the hearing had been transferred to my device. Anderson left with Udina, and the sound of arguing followed them down the hall.

Williams exhaled through her nose dramatically. “And that’s why I hate politicians,” she announced.

Nosily, I flicked through the datapad files Udina had left on his desk.

 _Captain Hendrickson reported some unusual energy readings during a patrol of the Argos Rho cluster,_ I read. I uploaded the file to my omni-tool for later. “We’ve got a couple of hours,” I told the others. “Who wants to explore?”

We headed out of Udina’s office together. From another office nearby, I heard deep voices arguing. I stuck my head in the door.

“I understand what you are saying, but these allegations are very serious. I can’t just -”

“This is serious. My reputation is at stake. I spoke with the Consort in confidence, and her alone. And she betrayed that confidence.”

“All right. I will look into it for you. In the meantime, do not do anything rash.”

I approached the aliens, uninvited but with awe. I’d never seen elcor in the flesh before. They were huge. I couldn’t decide if they reminded me more of elephants or sloths.

I approached the second elcor.

“Pleased greeting. Human, it is always good to see your kind. I am Ambassador Calyn. Genuine query, is there something I can do for you this day?”

I had so many questions. “Why do you explain what you’re about to say?” I started with the obvious.

Calyn shifted on his great big feet. “Our people communicate less through words and more through scent and slight movements. Plainly, we discovered our vocal expression was not enough to convey the feelings of our conversations to other species.”

The dumpy little volus _harrumphed_ behind me. “Why do you bother, Calyn? These Earth-clan don’t really care about our ways.”

Calyn shook his huge head. “Remorseful response, Din. You don’t truly believe that. And if you do, I am very sorry for you.”

The volus turned to me. “Earth-clan, you are in the wrong place, I think. Your ambassador is next door in the large office.”

“Chastising remark. Don’t be so rude, Din. At least introduce yourself.”

Din’s breather mask crackled impatiently. “I am Din Korlak, volus ambassador. Is there something I can do for you, Earth-clan?”

I grinned. “You seem to have a bit of a chip on your shoulder, Din.” The volus were one of the least threatening-looking species I’d ever seen. At least the elcor looked like he could squash me under his foot.

He pointed a fat finger accusingly at me. “You humans are new to the Citadel, and yet the Council has granted you great favour!”

“Chastising rebuke, Din. Your species has always been granted many concessions. Volus territory has expanded ten-fold since coming to the Citadel.”

“ _Hmph_. Details. We still have no real say in the decisions that affect Citadel space.”

I spent an hour or so in Calyn and Din’s shared office, learning about the elcor and the volus home worlds, histories, and cultures. We traded stories – well, mostly Calyn and I traded stories while Din sighed and groaned with malcontent.

The elcor was friendly and charming, and even the volus had a good sense of humour when you could get it out of him. I left their office feeling like I’d learned something, maybe even fostered an interspecies friendship.

Alenko and Williams had wandered off, and I decided to do some exploring of my own. I walked up to the reception desk outside the embassies.

“Good day, Commander. The human ambassador is up the stairs, first room on the right.” The asari behind the desk greeted, before I could speak.

I’d never met a brown-eyed asari before. “What’s your name? What do you do here?”

She blinked up at me. “My name is Saphyria. I am the administrative assistant for the embassies.”

 “What is this place?” I gestured around me.

“This is the Presidium. More specifically, you are at the Citadel Embassies. If you have more questions, please access Avina.”

“What’s that?”

“Oh. Avina is the virtual guide for the Citadel. Feel free to access the terminal yourself.” Saphyria pointed over my shoulder. I tilted my head, catching a glimpse of a flickering feminine holograph. “Have a pleasant day!” she called as I jogged over to have a look.

“Welcome to the Presidium. Allow me to be your guide.” The holograph transitioned through all the shades of pink and violet, giving it a shimmery appearance. Its body and voice were distinctly female, but the face seemed to shift in the light, so that I was unable to tell if it was meant to be human, asari, salarian, turian, or a myriad of other bipedal species. “Greetings, and welcome to the Presidium. My name is Avina, and I am pleased to be your virtual guide throughout this level of the Citadel space station.”

“Give me the tour,” I told it, and it launched into a thorough education of the local attractions.

When I’d exhausted Avina’s wealth of information, I checked my omni-tool. I still had an hour or so left. I wandered along the boulevard, checking out the shops and admiring the scenery. I walked into a bank accidentally when a particularly spherical volus caught my attention.

“What’s this? One of the Earth-clan? Ah, a very famous one, yes? You are the one called Shepard. The tale of how you survived the great tragedy on Akuze is truly remarkable. I am amazed each time I hear it.”

I folded my arms defensively. “I don’t like strangers keeping tabs on me.”

The volus clapped his hand on his helmeted head. “Forgive me, Earth-clan. My name is Barla Von. My job makes it necessary for me to keep informed. I am a financial advisor to many important clients here on the Citadel. When someone as important as yourself arrives on the station, I take notice.”

 _Flattery._ After my earlier experience with Din Korlak, I was surprised a volus was capable of it. “Tell me more about your job.” All my accounts were with Earth banks, who, unsurprisingly, were a little slow on the galactic market. I sometimes had trouble moving credits between stations and planets, and I was curious about opening an account.

“Galactic finance is incredibly complex: a mix of laws and regulations from dozens of interstellar economies.” Barla Von passed me a datapad and I began reading through the paperwork. “I’m an expert in how all these economies interact. For a fee, I share my expertise. I also offer premium services for those clients who need someone to conduct business without drawing unwanted attention. Discreet and efficient. That’s my motto.”

I filled out my paperwork while we talked about life on the Citadel and the ins and outs of the galactic economy. My omni-tool pinged a warning tone as I handed the datapad back over to the volus. “I should go,” I told him apologetically.

“Goodbye, Commander.” He responded pleasantly as I dashed off. I had twenty minutes to get the Tower. I ran into Williams and Alenko admiring the relay statue.

“Y’know, art doesn’t normally do much for me, but that relay statue? I like.” Williams was saying, squinting up at it.

Alenko waved me over. “Anyone else hear that low hum? Sounds like it’s coming from that statue. Makes my teeth tingle.”

It sounded more like the buzzing of bees, but I wasn’t bothered by it. We entered the lift together, watching the Presidium disappear below us through the glass.

“The Council isn’t going to ask me any questions, are they?” Williams asked anxiously as we ascended.

“I doubt it.” Alenko shook his head. “We’ve made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina.”

The chief scoffed. “No, we don’t, sir.”

The top of Citadel Tower was a garden, I was surprised to find out. Peaceful and expertly manicured, but still a shock. I was expecting something more formal, imperious, even. There was a huge fountain in the foyer, and two turians were loudly arguing, drawing dubious looks from all around.

“Saren’s hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them!” the tall one was demanding. Saren’s name caught my attention.

“Stall the Council? Don’t be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus.” The large turian stalked off predatorily, while the taller one growled colourful curses under his breath.

I cleared my throat expectantly.

“Commander Shepard?” he demanded, his unsettling Day-Glo blue gaze fixating on mine. I nodded. “Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-sec investigation into Saren.”

“Sounds like you really want to bring him down.” I cocked my head slowly to the side. Turians investigating turians? It was too convenient. And it only made it more unlikely that anything solid would turn up.

Garrus’ talons curled into fists “I don’t trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he’s a Spectre; everything he touches is classified. I can’t find any hard evidence.”

“I think the council is ready for us, commander,” Alenko chimed in.

“Good luck, Shepard.” He called after me. “Maybe they’ll listen to you.”

I could see Anderson waiting at the top of the stairs ahead of us and quickened my pace. C-Sec had no evidence. I had nothing but a bullshit vision. This was not going to go well.

“The hearing’s already started,” Anderson told us urgently. “Come on.”


	4. All-Out Assault

Ambassador Udina stood on a narrow bridge before the Council. I had been expecting more holographs, but instead, the Council had shown up in person. I knew their names now. Sparatus represented the turians, on the left. On the right, was the salarian councillor, Valern; and the asari in the middle was Tevos. Though they stood on a platform, high above the rest of us, they were dwarfed by the holo-comm of Saren.

Blown up eight-times his size, the holo dominated the room. His armour made him look like Frankenstein’s monster, combining turian and geth components in a hideously mismatched design. I supposed artificial intelligence had little use for attractive aesthetics.

“The geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way,” Tevos was explaining to Udina.

“The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason.” Sparatus added shortly.

“An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!” Udina was adamant.

 _Of course!_ I wanted to smack myself. I’d forgotten all about Powell.

“We’ve read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatised dockworker is hardly compelling proof.”

On high, Saren snorted. “I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend.”

I felt myself cringe involuntarily. Even his _voice_ sounded off, corrupted.

“That just let you catch him off guard!” Anderson interrupted, furious.

“Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me. And this must be your protégé. Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed.”

I heard the malice in his voice, and the triumph. I knew, then, that we were right. Saren was responsible. I’d find a way to make him pay.

“The mission to Eden Prime was top secret. The only way you could know about the beacon was if you were there!” I growled.

Saren was unruffled. “With Nihlus gone, his files passed on to me. I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed. But what can you expect from a human?”

I wasn’t going to play his game. “You can expect me to kill you the next time we meet.” I told him sincerely.

“Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You’re not ready to join the Council. You’re not even ready to join the Spectres!”

“He has no right to say that!” Udina shrieked. “That’s not his decision!” the poor man looked like he was about to blow an aneurism.

Tevos raised her hands, placating. “Shepard’s admission to the Spectres in not the purpose of this meeting,” she reprimanded Saren.

“This meeting has no purpose!” he snarled down at the Council. “The humans are wasting your time, Councillor. And mine.”

“You can’t hide behind the Council forever.” I warned.

“There is still one outstanding issue.” Anderson sounded desperate. “Commander Shepard’s vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon!”

I wanted the floor to open up and swallow me whole. I felt my face flush with humiliation.

“Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony!” Saren’s fake outrage made me feel about a million times worse.

“I agree. Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation.” Sparatus looked directly at me, shaking his head.

“Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?” Valern asked.

“You’ve made your decision. I won’t waste my breath.” There was no use trying to get blood from a stone.

The Councillors all shared glances. Udina released a disappointed sigh, and I assumed that meant they’d come to a conclusion.

“The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied.” Tevos intoned.

Saren was smug. “I’m glad to see justice was served.” The holo-comm flickered out.

“This meeting is adjourned.”

The Councillors left their platform, and the four of us retreated from the bridge, leaving Udina standing alone, a defeated man. Finally, he caught up with us.

“It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives.”

“I know Saren. He’s working with the geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn’t safe.” Anderson was frustrated, and I understood.

“Tell me about this history between you and Saren.” I was asking for the truth.

“I worked with him on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad. Real bad.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We shouldn’t talk about this here. But I know what he’s like. And he has to be stopped.”

I agreed. “We need to deal with Saren ourselves.”

Udina was thoughtful. “As a Spectre, he’s virtually untouchable. We need to find a way to expose him.”

“What about Garrus, the C-Sec investigator?” Alenko piped up. “We saw him arguing with the executor.”

“That’s right!” Williams exclaimed. “He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren.”

Any lead was a good lead. “Any idea where we could find him?”

“I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down. His name is Harkin.”

Anderson rolled his eyes, an uncharacteristic gesture for the captain. “Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I won’t waste my time with that loser.”

The Ambassador folded his arms, brow furrowed. “You won’t have to. I don’t want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this.”

“You can’t just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation!” I argued.

“The ambassador’s right. I need to step aside.” He looked at me, apologetic.

Udina’s omni-tool pinged. “I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later.” He marched off without even a backwards glance.

Anderson looked down at me. “Harkin’s probably getting drunk at Chora’s Den. It’s a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards.” He wrinkled his nose in distaste.

“I thought you said he was a drunken loser,” I replied, confused.

He shrugged. “Couldn’t hurt to go talk to him. Just be careful. I wouldn’t call him reliable.”

I nodded sagely. “All right. Story time,” I added.

Anderson adjusted his epaulet. “About twenty years ago, I was part of a mission in the Skyllian Verge. I was working with Saren to find and remove a known terrorist threat. Saren eliminated his target, but a lot of people died along the way. Innocent people. And the official records just covered it all up.” He made a sweeping motion with his hands. “But I saw how he operates. No conscience. No hesitation. He’d kill a thousand innocent civilians to end a war without a second thought.”

That didn’t sound so terrible. “Sometimes a thousand people must die so a million can live,” I quipped.

“But only if there’s no other way! Saren doesn’t even look for another option. He’s twisted. Broken. He likes the violence, the killing. And he knows how to cover his tracks.”

We began walking back towards the elevator. “Our ambassador doesn’t seem to get along with the Council,” I remarked.

“He’s just frustrated. The Council is always preaching that we need to be part of the galactic community. But for them, it’s a one-way street. They want us to expand and settle unstable regions like the Skyllian Verge and the Attican Traverse. But when we run into trouble, they don’t want to help us out. Everyone knows it’s only a matter of time until we get a seat on the Council. The ambassador just thinks it should happen sooner rather than later. And I agree.”

“Maybe they’d let us join the Council if we were more willing to cooperate with the other species?” I thought aloud.

Anderson was exasperated. “Of course, they would! If we did everything they told us to, they’d love to give us a seat on the Council. But it wouldn’t be much of a deal for us. I understand their side. They don’t want us dominating the Council. It’s founded on cooperation and alliances. But we have to look out for our own interests, too.”

We talked about Spectres, and Anderson’s dislike of Harkin. From the sounds of it, Harkin was a grade-A piece of shit and I didn’t blame the captain for dismissing him.

The doors to elevator opened. “I should go,” I told Anderson.

He regarded me sombrely. “Good luck, Shepard. I’ll be over in the ambassador’s office if you need anything else.”

I filed into the elevator with Alenko and Williams, and we began to descend back down to the Presidium.

“I can’t believe the Council ignored all the evidence against Saren!” Williams protested.

Alenko was despondent. “Saren’s one of their best operatives. It’s only natural they’d take his word over ours.”

“Oh, so, now we just chase leads while this smug turian runs around with his geth troopers?” she scoffed.

He shrugged. “That’s politics, Chief.”

Williams’ scowl deepened. “I hate politics.”

 

~

 

We got lost somewhere in the marketplace, looking for Chora’s Den. The wards were pulsing with life – aliens of every species, size, shape, and colour. Everything was for sale, too, from stalls selling tacky tourist merchandise to stores upon stores selling all kinds of weapons and armour.

We weaved through the people and finally found a back door leading into the lower markets. It was a little bit quieter there; I noticed all the prices were significantly higher, though the salespeople also looked significantly shadier.

It was obviously a black market, of sorts, or more likely a grey market. Everything legal was on display, and everything else required a password and a figure on thinstrip. We passed a turian merchant arguing about a refund with a human customer and stopped to look at weapons mods sold by a chatty little volus.

“Is that really… wow! It’s you!” I heard someone gushing behind me but didn’t think anything of it. “You’re Commander Shepard! The hero of Eden Prime! I am so honoured to meet you!”

I turned, coming face to face with an uncomfortably close human man. His aftershave got up my nose, making my eyes water. “Do I know you?” I asked, annoyed.

“Uh, no. No, I’m just a fan. One of your biggest fans, actually.” His neck and ears began to flush pink. “My name is Conrad. Conrad Verner. They say you killed more than a hundred geth on Eden Prime!”

I rolled my eyes. “They say a lot of things. I was too busy killing them to count.”

“Hey, I know you’re probably busy, but do you have time for a quick autograph?” Again, the hope and the hero-worship stopped me from saying no, although I was starting to wonder if I should go back to one of the tourist stalls and pick myself up a disguise.

He flicked up his omni-tool and I signed it. “Anything for a fan,” I told him, trying my best not to appear uncomfortable. “Here.”

His face lit up like a turian effigy on Armistice Day. “Thanks!”  I really appreciate it. My wife is going to be so impressed! I’ll let you get back to work, but next time you’re on Earth, I’d love to buy you a drink! Thanks again!”

We watched him leave.

“Fifty credits he’s not really married, ma’am.” Alenko looked down at me seriously. I waved him off. It wasn’t my problem.

We walked through a particularly sketchy looking market, finally finding a sign that told us we were headed in the right direction.

“I really need to work on my tradespeak,” I complained to the team, after I double-checked the translation on my omni-tool.

“That’s her!” someone shouted, and my shield deflected a round as the sound of live fire began echoing in the alley.

“Shields!” I yelled. “GET DOWN!”

We hit the floor, firing sporadically, until I had enough back up to open a singularity somewhere close to our assailants. Immobilised and helpless, pulled into the air, Alenko and Williams took care of them easily.

I rolled one of the corpses over with my boot.

“Those were Saren’s men,” Alenko commented, shaken.

I called in the location to the authorities and we entered the ‘club’, if you could call it that. We had a human phrase back on Earth that would have been more appropriate.

“A million light years from where humanity began, and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can’t decide if that’s funny, or sad,” Williams murmured over my shoulder, as I eyed a glittering blue asari, bent over double on a platform, ass in the air.

“What?” Alenko snapped out of his gaze, dragging his eyes away from the indigo individual suspended upside down on a pole between the bar and the ceiling. “You don’t think they’re here for the food?”

“Should we split up?” Williams asked me, and I shook my head.

We wound around the bar together, looking for the likeliest candidate.

“Back off, Wrex. Fist told us to take you down if you showed up.” A krogan bouncer was warning a much larger krogan outside a doorway that led deeper into the club.

The big krogan got right up in his face. “What are you waiting for?” he taunted. “I’m standing right here. This is Fist’s only chance. If he’s smart, he’ll take it.”

“He’s not coming out, Wrex. End of story.” The bouncer’s yellow eyes glimmered with excited menace. Krogans were fascinatingly violent.

The one named Wrex stepped away, closer to me. _Fuck me,_ I thought, impressed. He was easily ten feet tall. “This story is just beginning.” He pushed past me, almost treading on my boot. “Out of my way, humans. I have no quarrel with you.”

Alenko stared after him. “What was that all about?”

“Who knows? Let’s just try not to get caught in the middle.” Williams shrugged.

I nudged her. “Do you think that’s our guy?” I asked.

Her eyes followed mine to a loner at a table not far from where we were standing. The jackass slumped over it was surrounded by empty glasses, leering at the girl working the bar. His shirt was two sizes too tight; his pudgy arms looked like protein paste oozing out of the sleeves. What little hair he had left was greasy and combed over his mostly bald skull, and his nose looked like had been broken more than once.

To my dismay, he caught me staring. “Hey there, sweetheart. You lookin’ for some fun? ‘Cause I gotta say, that soldier getup looks real good on that bod’ of yours.” He winked, and I tried not to throw up in my mouth. “Why don’t you sit your sweet little ass down beside old Harkin? Have a drink and we’ll see where this goes.”

“I’d rather drink a cup of acid after chewing on a razor blade.” I replied sincerely.

His leer only widened. “You trying to hurt my feelings? You gotta do better than that. After twenty years with C-Sec, I’ve been called every name in the book, princess.”

“Call me princess again,” I dared him. “And you’ll be picking your teeth up off the floor. Now tell me where Garrus is.”

Harkin thrust his palms in the air. “Okay, okay. Just relax. Garrus, you say? You must be one of Anderson’s crew. Poor bastard’s still trying to bring Saren down, eh?” I shared a dark look with my team. “I know where Garrus is. But you gotta tell me somethin’ first. Did the captain let you in on his ‘big secret’?”

I didn’t like the way he put ‘big secret’ in air quotes. I honestly didn’t give a shit, not even if Anderson and Saren had been lovers, or screwed each other’s mothers or whatever gossip Harkin had up his sleeve. “Just tell me where Garrus is before this gets ugly.” I warned.

“But it’s all related. Don’t you see?” I sneered back at him by way of an answer. “The captain used to be a Spectre. Didn’t know that did you?” My face must have given me away. “It was all very hush-hush. The first human ever given that honour. And then, he blew it. Screwed up his mission so bad, they kicked him out. Of course, he blames Saren. Says the turian set him up.”

I had a sudden urge to knock the glass he was sipping from right out of his hand, but I refrained. “Just tell me where Garrus went,” I repeated through my teeth.

Harkin gave up. “Garrus was sniffing around Doctor Michel’s office. She runs the med clinic on the other side of the wards. Last I heard, he was going back there.”

 _Finally._ “I’m out of here.” I glared at the little creep for another half a second before I walked.

“Yeah, good. Go. Let me drink in peace!” he shouted after me, drawing some confused looks from the other patrons.

“Why didn’t Captain Anderson tell us he used to be a Spectre?” Williams asked.

Alenko answered for me. “Maybe it’s not true. Harkin’s an ass. I bet he’s just messing with our heads.”

I wasn’t so sure, but I wasn’t about to say anything in an open bar. You never knew who might listening.

“You’re probably right,” she agreed. “Still, I’d like to hear what the captain has to say about all this.”

She wasn’t the only one with questions.

Thankfully, we found Michel’s clinic far more easily than we did Chora’s Den. Turns out, Citadel legislation requires medical facilities to be clearly signed and posted, and easily accessible in the event of an emergency.

The doctor was having a little bit of an emergency of her own when we arrived.

“I didn’t tell anyone, I swear!” a woman was crying.

In my peripheral vision, I could see Garrus creeping behind the desk, crouched low, pistol ready. The woman, presumably the doctor, was looked in a headlock by a guy who looked like a ridiculous budget action-vid bad guy, complete with an eyepatch visor and shiny leather jacket, flanked by goons.

“That was smart, Doc,” he growled into her ear. “Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart. Keep your mouth shut or we’ll -” he noticed me in the doorway and flicked the safety off his gun, aiming it at what he probably thought was my head, but looked more like two feet above my right shoulder. _Amateurs._ “Who are you?” he demanded. 

“Let her go,” I ordered, my trigger finger twitching in anticipation. I watched Garrus out of the corner of my eye twist around the desk and release a round into the thug’s head.

It couldn’t have been more perfect. Aside from the doctor’s face being splattered by the guy’s blood, the bullet hadn’t gone near her. She collapsed to the floor holding her throat and we unloaded on the goons.

I tossed them down with a quick throw, enjoying the pleasant tingle of static discharge from my implant, and let the team finish them off.

Typically, the impact force of a metal shaving discharged from a miniature mass effect core and dragged down a magnetic rail, like the one in my standard issue Alliance sidearm, was around 5.04 x 105 joules. That’s really fucking hard. Unfortunately, standard issue kinetic barriers, like the ones these assholes could purchase second-hand for as little as five hundred credits, absorb most of that energy during contact.

You have to really chip away at the shields before they come down, depending how strong they are, but once they’re gone, it doesn’t take much to kill a human. A lot less than an elcor, or a krogan, but still more than a hanar, or maybe a naked salarian.

I watched the last goon take his last breath with no small amount of satisfaction.

“All clear, Commander.” Williams announced unnecessarily, but I thanked her anyway. Marines who like their jobs follow commands. Marines who love their jobs do it right, every time.

“Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard.” Garrus’ eyes gleamed down at the corpse of the thug leader.

I felt a smile creep across my face despite myself. “You took him down clean,” I replied, unable to keep the admiration out of my voice.

“Sometimes you get lucky.”

 _Lucky?_ Garrus was lucky, all right. Lucky he hadn’t blown Michel’s head clear off along with old dead eyepatch over there. “Doctor Michel? Are you hurt?” his concern for the woman was a nice touch. Other than Nihlus, I’d never met a turian who’d look out for a human unless they’d been ordered to.

“No, I’m okay.” She tore open an alcohol swab and began wiping her face. “Thanks to you. All of you.”

It was time to get some actual work done. “I know those men threatened you,” I began. “But if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you.”

Michel spoke with a quaint French accent, though her English was impeccable. “They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian.” Her voice trembled.

“What quarian?” I asked, interested.

She took a deep breath. “A few days ago, a quarian came by my office. She’d been shot, but she wouldn’t tell me who did it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide.”

I had a growing feeling in my stomach I didn’t like. “Where is she now?”

“I put her in contact with Fist. He’s an agent for the Shadow Broker.”

“Not anymore,” Garrus interjected. “Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn’t too happy about it.”

The doctor gasped. “Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker?” she was aghast. “That’s stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer.”

“That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get.” Garrus looked at me.

“She must have something that proves he’s a traitor.” I looked at Michel. “Did the quarian mention anything about Saren? Or the geth?”

Her answer was as quick as lightening. “She did! The information she was going to trade. She said it had something to do with the geth.”

“She must be able to link Saren to the geth! There’s no way the Council can ignore this!” Garrus was triumphant.

I inspected my sidearm for damage. “Time we paid Fist a visit,” I told my team.

“This is your show, Shepard. But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I’m coming with you.”

Garrus’ tenacity surprised me. “You’re a turian. Why do you want to bring him down?”

“I couldn’t find the proof I needed in my investigation.” He growled with angry frustration. “But I knew what was really going on. Saren is a traitor to the Council, and a disgrace to my people!”

His outrage was moving, really. In the end, though, it was Nihlus. There had been an immediate intimacy to our relationship I couldn’t explain, and I don’t just mean because we’d had sex. For a moment, I’d had a future with Nihlus. As a student, a protégé. He’d offered me something that no one else could ever give me – his experience. Maybe it was arrogant of me, maybe it was all my ego; but in that moment I realised I had a chance to repay his needless death, by offering a turian the same thing that a turian had offered so freely to me. _I don’t care that you’re human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job._ It felt like a whole lifetime had passed since Nihlus had said that to me.

He’d made his case, and I’d made mine. “Welcome aboard, Garrus.”

“You know, we aren’t the only ones going after Fist,” he added slyly. “The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out.”

“Yeah, we saw him in the bar,” Williams reminded me.

I shook my head. We were running out of time. “We can handle this on our own,” I told them. “Let’s go.”

I sent Williams back to the embassy to update the captain and headed back to Chora’s Den with Alenko and Vakarian.

“Looks like it’s shut down,” Alenko sounded alarmed.

“Fist knows we’re coming,” Vakarian swore under his breath.

The resulting firefight didn’t take long, but it still felt like we were wasting time. I burst through the doors to the back, only to realise it just lead to an empty storeroom.

“Stop right there! Don’t come any closer!”

Well, almost empty.

“Warehouse workers?” Vakarian lowered his gun. “All the real guards must be dead.”

“Stay back! Or we’ll shoot!”

I looked at the guys. The one on the left was trembling so hard he had to hold his pistol with two hands. “I just killed fifty bodyguards to get in here,” I told them, incredulous. “What do you think I’ll do to you?”

Twitchy looked at his gun. “Uh, well, uh,”

“Aw, screw Fist.” Baldy nudged his compatriot. “He doesn’t pay us enough for this.”

Their weapons clattered to the floor as they edged around the three of us and escaped through the door we’d come in.

“I would’ve never thought of that,” Vakarian looked at Alenko.

The lieutenant smiled. “Shooting people isn’t always the answer.”

“I do like to shake things up, sometimes.” I added. “It’s boring when everybody dies.”

Alenko’s look turned into shock and I realised what I’d said too late, and clamped my mouth shut. I hadn’t made a wisecrack like that since before Akuze. It wasn’t something I joked about lightly.

Fuming, I stormed Fist’s office, hastily ducking outside the door as his automated turrets swivelled, fixing on my location.

“Why do I have to do everything myself?” I could hear him yelling. “Time to die, little soldiers!”

 _Little?_ Was he really making a fucking crack about my height? I hurled a grenade at one of the turrets furiously. The resulting explosion knocked him to the floor, and I heard his skull crack against the polished tile.

I stood over him, puffing my chest up to make sure I looked bigger.

“Wait! Don’t kill me!” God, he was pathetic. “I surrender!”

“Tell me where the quarian is and I won’t have to shoot you in the kneecaps.” I didn’t take threats lightly.

“She’s not here,” he sobbed. “I don’t know where she is. That’s the truth.”

“He’s lying,” Alenko confirmed.

I turned to face him. “Put a round in his leg.” I ordered the lieutenant. “See if he talks.” I heard the safety switch flick off.

“Wait! Wait!” Fist screamed, covering his eyes. I didn’t know why, I wasn’t threatening to shoot those. “I don’t know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her. She’s not here. Said she’d only deal with the Shadow Broker himself.”

“Impossible,” Vakarian scoffed. “The Shadow Broker only works through his agents.”

“Nobody meets the Shadow Broker, ever.” Fist agreed. “Even I don’t know his true identity. But she didn’t know that. I told her I’d set a meeting up. But when she shows up, it’ll be Saren’s men waiting for her.”

 _Son of a bitch._ “Tell me where that meeting is before I blow your lying head off!”

“Here on the wards! The back alley by the markets. She’s supposed to meet them right now. You can make it if you hurry.”

“Am I supposed to just forget your part in all this?” I demanded.

Fresh tears streaked down his face. “Hey! I came clean! I told you about the meeting! Besides, I’ve got my own problems now! The Shadow Broker wants me dead! I have to disappear. Forget about me. I’m a ghost.”

People say a lot of things about me, especially after everything I did. Maybe I am a ruthless killer. Or a murderer. But the one thing I never do – have never done – is kill in cold blood. Bleeding, unarmed, crawling on the floor like a worm. That’s what the man under my boot that day was. “You’re not my concern.” I told him, and then I turned my back. I had what I’d come here for.

“Don’t worry.” He got to his feet. “You’ll never see me again.”

I heard the door close behind him as I picked an OSD up off the floor. His computer lay beside it filled with metal – we’d accidentally shot it up during the fight, but it looked like he’d been trying to wipe it before we arrived.

“Commander, we need to hurry,” Vakarian announced urgently.

“I’m right behind you,” I told him. “Lead the way.”

The quarian was right where Fist said she’d be.

“Did you bring it?” a thin-looking turian was circling, cornering her.

“Where’s the Shadow Broker? Where’s Fist?” she sounded afraid.

The turian caressed her hood. “They’ll be here. Where’s the evidence?”

The quarian brushed him off, backing up against wall. “No way. The deal’s off.”

The turian gestured at his salarian bodyguards, and they drew their weapons. The quarian scrambled, dropping a smoke grenade, and my team joined the fight. Alenko lifted them biotically, and I tossed them away from the quarian. One of the salarians hit the ceiling, his spine cracking audibly as his body went limp.

Vakarian was finishing off the turian assassin while I made sure the other salarian was dead.

“Fist set me up!” the quarian shouted angrily, more at herself than me. “I knew I couldn’t trust him!”

“Were you hurt in the fight?” I asked her urgently. Quarians had shitty immune systems or something, minor injuries could kill them. I think I’d read about it on the extranet.

“I know how to look after myself,” she snapped. “Not that I don’t appreciate the help.” Her voice softened. “Who are you?”

“My name’s Shepard. I’m looking for evidence to prove Saren’s a traitor.” I wanted the quarian on my side, and more than anything, I wanted what she had.

“Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe.”

I understood, and I accepted her demands. If anyone else tried to get between me and this quarian I’d be giving them a personal tour of the keeper’s protein vats.

“We should take her to the ambassador’s office. It’s safe there.” Alenko suggested. “He’ll want to see this, anyway.”

 

~

 

We managed to make it back to the embassies without getting in any more trouble, unless you count the skycar driver trying to feel me up in the front seat. Lucky for him, I had more important things on my mind than throwing him out above the Presidium.

“You’re not making my life easy, Shepard!” I wondered what a good day for Udina looked like. Probably only screeched at his secretary four, maybe five times? “Firefights, in the wards? An all-out assault on Chora’s Den? Do you know how many -” his eyes fell on the quarian and he wrinkled his nose. “Who’s this? A quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?”

It was nice to know that the ambassador for my planet was as capable of bigotry as any other. “This quarian can help us bring down Saren. I would’ve told you that if you hadn’t jumped down my throat.”

To his credit, Udina looked ashamed. “I apologise, Commander. This whole thing with Saren has me a bit on edge.” I was surprised and touched by his genuine apology. Maybe there was a shred of humility left in him, after all. “Maybe we should start at the beginning, err, miss?” he looked expectantly at our new friend.

“My name is Tali. Tali’Zorah nar Rayya.”

“We don’t see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?” suspicion creeped back into his tone.

“I was on my Pilgrimage. My rite of passage into adulthood.”

 _Fascinating._ “I’ve never heard of this before,” I mentioned.

“It is a tradition among my people. When we reach maturity, we leave the ships of our parents and our people behind. Alone, we search the stars, only returning to the flotilla once we have discovered something of value. In this way, we prove ourselves worth of adulthood.”

“What kinds of things do you look for?” I wanted to know.

Tali nodded slowly. “It could be resources like food or fuel. Or some type of useful technology, or even knowledge that will make life easier on the flotilla. Through our Pilgrimage, we prove that we will contribute to the community, rather than being a burden on our limited resources.”

“Tell us what you found.” I asked, rather than demanded.

She began to pace. “During my travels, I began hearing reports of geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world and waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then, I disabled it and removed its memory core.”

 _Yes!_ I opened my mouth to ask more, but Anderson interrupted me. “I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defence mechanism.”

 _No!_ I was disappointed, but still hopeful. “How did you manage to preserve the memory core?”

I swear Tali’s face was smug behind her mask, though I had no proof. “My people created the geth.” She reminded us all. “If you’re quick, careful, and lucky, small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks.” She held up a finger, tapping away at her omni-tool.

And then, we heard it.

**_“Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit.”_ **

“That’s Saren’s voice. This proves he was involved in the attack.” Anderson’s eyes were the size of dinnerplates, and probably so were mine.

“He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit. Any idea what that means?” I glanced at the team, seeing blank faces all around.

Anderson had his own ideas. “The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon. Maybe its some kind of Prothean technology… like a weapon.”

“Wait.” Tali said. “There’s more. Saren wasn’t working alone.” She rewound the audio file.

**_“Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit.”_ **

**_“And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.”_ **

Udina’s chin was resting on his fist. “I don’t recognise that other voice. The one talking about Reapers.”

“Are they some kind of new alien species?” I asked.

“According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed fifty thousand years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished.” Tali told us, frantic. “At least, that’s what the geth believe.”

The ambassador didn’t buy it. “Sounds a little far-fetched.”

The memory of the feeling of hot, acrid breath on my neck returned. Udina wasn’t convinced, but I was. “The vision on Eden Prime,” I hesitated, I hated bringing it up. “I understand it now. I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers.” I looked at the little quarian. I wished dearly that she’d left it all at Saren.

“The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life.” She explained gently. “And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back.”

“The Council is just going to love this,” Udina scoffed, shaking his head.

“They won’t believe you anyway. Just keep them out of this.” It was worth a shot.

“We have to tell them!” Anderson snapped at me. “Even if they don’t believe anything else, this proves Saren is a traitor.”

Udina agreed. “The captain’s right. We need to present this to the Council right away.”

“What about her? The quarian?” Alenko asked.

 “My name is Tali!” she reminded him unpleasantly. “You saw me in the alley, Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you.”

“I thought you were on your Pilgrimage?” I was confused.

“The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good,” she protested. “What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My Pilgrimage can wait.”

I offered her my hand. “I’ll take all the help I can get.”

She shook it, bouncing on her feet. “Thanks. You won’t regret this.”

The ambassador walked over to his desk. “Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower.”

I asked if I could use Udina’s bathroom and sent Alenko and Williams back to the ship. In the field, showers are hard to come by, but I couldn’t stand feeling dirty if I had the option to freshen up. My omni-tool pinged with the new hearing time. I also had a couple other pings, one reminding me of an earlier commitment, and other one that looked like spam.

_My fellow biotic: you have been selected to receive this transmission because of our shared plight!_

I rolled my eyes and deleted it. I jogged out to reception, catching up with Vakarian and Tali. I was pleased to have such a diverse team. If my mission was successful, we’d be the first interspecies task force to represent the Alliance, and that was definitely something I wanted on my resume.


	5. Inspired Confidence

“There’s no way the Council can ignore us this time. Saren’s days as a Spectre are done.” Garrus sounded as confident as I felt. We had a damn good chance here.

“If the evidence is worth trying to kill me for, I hope it is sufficient to motivate the Council,” Tali chirped. I wished I could be as chipper about my near-death experiences. Granted, a lot more people died around me than seemed fair.

In a weird moment of déjà vu, I caught up with Anderson at the bottom of the stairs.

“Come on,” he urged us. “Udina’s presenting the quarian’s evidence to the Council.”

**“Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit.”**

**“And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.”**

“You wanted proof. There it is.” The ambassador was cool and collected. If you had put him standing next to his earlier self, red-faced and blustering, I wouldn’t have believed they were related, let alone the same man.

“This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes.” Shockingly, Sparatus spoke up first. He seemed neither apologetic nor embarrassed by his earlier failure to act.

“I recognise the other voice.” Tevos looked at him. “The one speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia.”

“Who’s she?” Tevos looked worried, and if the asari councillor was worried, the matriarch was important, somehow.

“Matriarchs are powerful asari who have entered the final stage of their lives. Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren.”

Valern was unconvinced. “I’m more interested in the Reapers. What do you know about them?’

“Only what was extracted from the geth’s memory core. The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished.” Anderson explained.

“The geth believe the Reapers are gods,” I added. “And Saren is the prophet for their return.”

The captain nodded. “We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren’s searching for it. That’s why he attacked Eden Prime.”

“Do we even know what this Conduit is?” Valern asked.

“Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers. That’s bad enough.” The rest was conjecture at this point.

“Listen to what you’re saying!” Sparatus was amused. “Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible. It has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we’ve found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we’d have found something!”

I bristled. “I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth. Don’t make the same mistake again.”

Tevos shook her head. “This is different. You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he’s using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don’t really know why.”

“The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander. A convenient lie to cover Saren’s true purpose. A legend he’s using to bend the geth to his will.” I wondered where Valern’s proof of that was.

“Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilisation. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again.” Suddenly, I was sure of it, deep within my bones. The danger Saren posed was very, very real. I didn’t know how I knew it, or why, but it had something to do with the beacon, and the vision. I had to make them understand, before it was too late.

“Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life. He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position.” Sparatus tapped at something on the console in front of him.

“That is not good enough!” Udina growled. “You know he’s hiding somewhere in the Traverse! Send your fleet in!”

“A fleet cannot track down one man,” Valern scoffed.

“A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies.” I could see red creeping up the back of Udina’s neck.

“Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems! We won’t be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies.” Sparatus argued.

I saw my chance. “I can take Saren down.” I announced.

Tevos’ eyes fixed on mine. “The Commander’s right. There is a way to stop Saren that doesn’t require fleets, or armies.”

Sparatus slammed his fist into his console. “No! It’s too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres!”

“I faced Saren on Eden Prime and exposed him for a traitor. I’ve proven myself.” I squared my shoulders.

The Councillors shared glances, and finally, Sparatus forced himself to nod, just once. They pressed their palms to their consoles, and the unit on the bridge lit up.

“Commander Shepard – step forward.” Tevos ordered, and I obeyed.

Wordlessly, Udina stepped aside. People began milling on the balconies overlooking the Council stage, and anticipatory whispers descended through the ranks.

“It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel.” The asari councillor began.

Valern continued. “Spectres are not trained but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file.”

“Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will.” Tevos finished.

Sparatus went next. “Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold.”

“You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species.” The asari finished. The console scanned my palm.

“I’m honoured, Councillor.” I bowed respectfully, the way I always had in various military assemblies.

“We’re sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He’s a fugitive from justice, so you are authorised to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him,” Valern’s mission was clear.

“I’ll find him.” I promised.

Tevos bowed her head. “This meeting of the Council is adjourned.”

I shook Anderson’s hand first. “Congratulations, Commander.”

“We’ve got a lot of work to do, Shepard. You’re going to need a ship, a crew, supplies…” a vein pulsed against Udina’s temple.

“You should go down to the C-Sec academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer.” The captain added.

“Anderson, come with me. I’ll need your help to set all of this up.” The ambassador already sounded like he regretted the whole thing. They departed in a hurry, leaving me alone with the team.

“I thought the ambassador would be a little more grateful. He didn’t even thank you!” I appreciated Tali’s indignation on my behalf.

“Until I find Saren, I haven’t done anything. Come on,” I told them.

Vakarian gestured to lead the way. “Right behind you, Shepard.”

At the bottom of the stairs, a fleet rear-admiral was waiting for me. “Congratulations on becoming the first human Spectre, Commander. I’m certain you’ll be up to the challenge.”

I shook his hand. “I appreciate that,” I replied, feeling flattered.

“My name is Admiral Kahoku. It’s about time the Alliance got one of our own in with the Spectres. We need people like you to deal with our… problems.”

He nodded firmly, and I began to feel the creeping suspicion that he wanted more than just a simple handshake.

“Is something wrong, Admiral?” I asked, only half-feigning my concern. If he was coming to me, then it was serious.

He scowled, and the lines in his face ran deep. He had to be at least up in his eighties, although he could have been younger under his weathered skin. “I’m getting stonewalled by bureaucratic assholes. Nothing new.” I could certainly sympathise with that, at least. “Maybe you can help me, Shepard. One of my recon teams was investigating some strange activity out in the Traverse. We lost contact yesterday. Now I can’t get clearance to check it out – suddenly, it’s a restricted area.”

 _Hmm._ Mysterious circumstances, Attican Traverse, an Alliance rear-admiral without clearance – the coincidences were lining up unpleasantly.

“But that doesn’t apply to you, Shepard.” His blue eyes pierced mine urgently. Here was a man at the end of his tether. “Spectres can go anywhere they want. You could find out why my team dropped out of contact.”

“I’ll find them, Admiral.” I promised.

Kahoku’s brow relaxed. “I appreciate that, Commander. I was running out of options. I’m going to stay here and see if I can find anything out through official channels. Won’t hold my breath, though,” he added conspiratorially. He transferred his team’s last known location to my omni-tool. “Maybe you can get some answers.”

 

~

 

We headed back to the embassies when the captain forwarded a message to my omni-tool.

**_Shepard – meet us up on the docking bay as soon as possible. We’re ready for you. Anderson._ **

“Change of plans,” I alerted the team. “We’re heading straight down to Citadel Security. Vakarian, lead the way.”

“Hey, I know you! You’re Shepard, right?” a fresh-faced youth in a C-Sec uniform greeted us outside the elevator. “I saw the monument at Akuze. They’ve got a whole section about you there. It’s a miracle you survived.”

I stared up at him for a moment. I’d never been back to Akuze, never seen the monument. The top brass, probably Admiral Hackett, had sent me some PR nonsense for approval and I’d signed it all without reading it.

Vakarian nudged my elbow gently. “Looks like you have a fan,” he announced, and I could almost hear the smirk in his voice. Why did turians have to be such assholes all the time?

Nonetheless, I snapped out of my daze, long enough to spend ten minutes having a quiet chat with the kid. His name was Eddie Lang, and he was from Earth, like me. His grandad had been a cop there. He also seemed to appreciate the Citadel and its melting pot of aliens – an attitude I was happy to see fostered in young humans. Bigotry ran deep in our species. Not that it wasn’t an issue with other aliens, but we were never going to get by in the universe without a little tolerance.

I found the Requisition Office down in C-Sec’s basement, right where Anderson had said it would be. The turian officer congratulated me on my Spectre status and opened up the rare stocks.

And that was where I saw her. _Colossus X_ , by Kassa Fabrications. Manufactured in red and black. I mean, really, it was made for me. Ever since I’d gained the N7 designation, I’d acquired everything that went with it. My membership to the N7 requisition office was probably my most personally valued possession. I’d acquired everything from the towels to the underwear to the sunglasses. Red and black were more to me than stripes on my patches, they ran in my blood, they were who I had built myself into; my aposematism – a visible warning to everyone and anyone that I was N7, a highly trained elite marine, an Alliance-approved biological weapon.

For the first time in my life, I bought something without even checking my bank balance. I had the credits, that wasn’t an issue. The thing about joining the Alliance is that everything that comes with it is free, but you still get a paycheck. Paychecks that mostly just sat in my account, accumulating interest until I needed something in a hurry. I had to order a custom size – I was five foot three and didn’t want to risk chafing from standard-size armour – and had it sent up to the ship. The RO officer informed me it would only take a few hours to fabricate and with any luck, we wouldn’t be ready to leave just yet.

With a smug expression on my face and a few thousand credits lighter, I was ready to get back to the _Normandy._

I waited for the elevator, ignoring Vakarian and Tali bickering about the geth conflict behind my back, when the krogan approached. It was the ten-footer I’d run into in Chora’s Den, when I’d been looking for Harkin.

“You. Human. You the one they call Shepard?” orange-red eyes with strange, amphibian pupils stared me down.

“Who wants to know?” I snapped. Krogan were notoriously savage brutes, with a culture that eschewed politeness as weakness, and favoured aloof and even antagonistic behaviour.

“The name’s Wrex,” he growled, and I was suddenly aware that my companions had ceased arguing and were holding themselves still, weapons at the ready behind me. “The Shadow Broker paid me a lot of money to get rid of Fist. Only you got there first.”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not my fault you were slow on the draw.” I heard Vakarian make a weird noise, somewhere between a gasp and a hiccup.

“When I get paid to do a job, I finish it. Alone.” At twice my height, Wrex almost had to kneel to stick his face in mine. I could feel his hot, acrid breath on my forehead.

“I don’t like where this is going,” Vakarian muttered, shifting on his feet.

“But I didn’t finish this job, Shepard. You did. So, the payment is yours.” He stepped back, giving his omni-tool a single tap.

My surprise was irrepressible. “You’re going to pay me for getting rid of Fist?” I didn’t have the heart – or the balls – to admit that I’d let Fist go. It suddenly didn’t seem important.

“I won’t take credit for someone else’s work. I transferred the payment into your account.” My omni-tool pinged, confirming the transfer. “I liked the way you handled Fist. Now I hear you’re going after Saren. I was thinking I should come along.”

Vakarian coughed his objections behind me, but I’d always wanted to see a krogan in action. Anderson would probably kill me, but I had a warm, fuzzy feeling about Wrex. I’d’ve never said as much to him, though. “You’re a bounty hunter. What do you get out of going after Saren?”

“I’m not in this for the money. I want to be where the action is.” Well, that was good, because the Council wasn’t paying anything except for my salary until the job was done. “There’s a storm coming. And you and Saren are right in the middle of it.”

I needed more. “Why me? Saren’s already got a lot of krogan working for him.”

“Those aren’t krogan!” Wrex snapped viciously, and two nearby C-Sec agents drew their weapons threateningly, edging around us. “They’re servants,” he hissed. “They grovel at Saren’s feet to lick his boots, trading their freedom for promises of wealth and power. My people were a proud species once. Some of us still remember that. I won’t bow down to Saren like the others.”

I glanced sideways at Vakarian, who was shaking his head vehemently. I sized the krogan up. It took a minute, there was a lot of him. “We’ll take you with us, Wrex.” I finally agreed. Vakarian scraped his forehead plates with his talons.

“Smart move, Shepard.” Wrex grinned nastily at Vakarian, shoulder-barging past him to get in the elevator.

I couldn’t help but feel slightly elated as I arrived back at the ship, but when I came face to face with Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson, the latter looking grim and the former looking like a dejected puppy, I could tell something was up. I had Vakarian and Wrex assist the crew in loading the crates from medical on board while I addressed my superiors, Tali hovering anxiously over my shoulder.

“I’ve got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the _Normandy._ The ship is yours now.”

Agape, I turned to Anderson. “She’s quick, and quiet, and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, Commander.”

“This isn’t right!” I protested. “The _Normandy_ belongs to you!”

Anderson folded his arms, and I felt like I was being scolded. “You needed your own ship. A Spectre can’t answer to anyone but the Council. And it’s time for me to step down.”

I shook my head sadly. “Come clean with me, Captain. You owe me that much.” For fuck’s sake, I’d barely been assigned to this ship a week ago. _XO – Captain David Anderson_. That’s what the briefing had said!

“I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for the Spectres.”

I guess that dumbass Harkin hadn’t been lying after all. “Why didn’t you ever mention this?” I wanted to know.

“What was I supposed to say?” he was incredulous. “’I could’ve been a Spectre, but I blew it’? I failed, Commander. It’s not something I’m proud of.” Frustration clouded his brow. “Ask me later and I’ll tell you the whole story. For now, all you need to know is, I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me. I had my shot. It came and went. Now you have a chance to make up for my mistakes.”

“Saren’s not going to get away this time,” I swore.

Anderson shook his head again. “Saren’s gone. Don’t even try to find him. But we know what he’s after – the Conduit. He’s got his geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues.”

“We had reports of geth on Feros shortly before our colony there dropped out of contact. And there have been sightings around Noveria.” Udina announced.

“Find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria. Maybe you can figure out where the Conduit is before he does.” The captain’s voice was urgent.

“Anything else?” I asked.

“We have one more lead. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on that recording. She has a daughter; a scientist who specialises in the Protheans.” Udina and Anderson shared a look. “We don’t know if she’s involved but it might be a good idea to try and find her. See what she knows. Her name’s Liara. Doctor Liara T’Soni. We have reports she was exploring an archaeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster.”

 _Artemis Tau._ “Sounds like I should head there first.” I took a good, long look at the _Normandy._ My ship. My crew. My mission.

“It’s your decision, Commander.” Anderson replied, a touch of wistfulness in his voice. “You’re a Spectre now. You don’t answer to us.”

“But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole,” Udina was quick to remind me. “you make a mess and I get stuck cleaning it up.”

I crossed my fingers behind my back. “I’ll try not to make things any harder on you, Ambassador,” I told him, with as much sincerity I was capable of managing.

He gave me the stink-eye, disbelieving. “Glad to hear it, Commander.” He finally decided. “Remember: you were a human long before you were a Spectre. I have a meeting to get to,” he checked his omni-tool conspicuously. “Captain Anderson can answer any questions you might have.” And without a backward glance he strode off towards the elevator.

The captain and I watched it descend.

“What do you know about the Artemis Tau cluster?” I asked curiously. In the Alliance, I went where I was told. My destination had never been up to me before.

The captain shrugged. “Not much. I’ve never been there myself. A handful of systems with a few small uncharted worlds, but, no real colonies. Might not be easy finding Doctor T’Soni out there. My advice is to look for the world with the Prothean ruins.”

I looked at the ship again. “I should go.”

The captain smiled, showing his teeth. “I’ll be here if you need anything. Good luck, Shepard.”

I boarded, feeling the shift in pressure as the airlock compressed, and then decompressed. I headed for the cockpit, nodding at Joker as he swivelled around in his chair.

“I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives a hundred battles, and then gets taken down by backroom politics.” He shook his head. I felt slightly defensive, as though he were accusing me of being behind it all. “Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad on this mission, you’re next on their chopping block.”

I opened my mouth to snap back, and then shut it, thinking better of it. I was in charge now. Just because I’d landed myself in charge of _Normandy_ and her crew, didn’t mean I didn’t have to earn their respect. “Captain Anderson should be the one in charge. It’s like I’m stealing the ship from him.” I told him honestly.

“Yeah, the captain got screwed. But it’s not like you could’ve stopped it. Nobody’s blaming you.” I eyed him shrewdly. I didn’t like having my mind read by smart-ass flight lieutenants. “Everyone on this ship is behind you, Commander. One hundred percent. Intercom’s open, if you’ve got anything you want to say to the crew, now’s the time.”

I leaned forward, pressing my palm against the comm switch until the light switched to green. “This is Commander Shepard speaking,” I announced. “We have our orders. Find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I won’t lie to you, crew. This mission isn’t going to be easy. It began with the attack on Eden Prime, a human settlement in the Traverse.

“But we know Saren won’t stop there. His geth armies aren’t going to stay on the far fringes of the Citadel space. He knows we’re coming. Wherever he searches for the Conduit, we’ll be there. We will hunt him to the very ends of the galaxy and bring. Him. Down.” I’d never been big on the speeches, but my confidence was inspired. “This is the most important mission any of us have ever been on. The fate of an entire galaxy is at stake. We will stop Saren, no matter the cost.”

I watched the green light fade back to red.

“Well said, Commander.” Joker told me, impressed. “Captain would be proud.”

“The captain gave up everything, so I could have this chance,” I reminded him unnecessarily. “We can’t fail.”

Joker grinned, saluting informally. “Yes, ma’am!” his chair swivelled back around to the computer, and I headed for the galaxy map.

I had a course to plot.


	6. Outnumbered; Never Outgunned

I had every intention of making my way to the ass end of the Sagittarius Arm with immediate haste, but instead I found myself beginning to plot a course back to the Exodus Cluster. I had to scan the system for myself. No ship as large as the one that landed on Eden Prime could just vanish into the nether without leaving a massive heat signature. While I’d been over the earlier Alliance reports, I had my own questions that couldn’t go unanswered. Not to mention, the _Normandy_ had the most advanced technology in the fleet. It went without saying that included our sensors and scanners, too.

“Commander, urgent message from Alliance Command coming in. I’ll patch it through.” Joker’s voice over the comm distracted me from the map.

Before I could protest, the gravelly tones of the top brass himself announced themselves through the unit. “Shepard. This is Admiral Hackett from Alliance Command. We’ve got a situation here, and you’re the only one who can handle it.”

As gratifying as it was to hear that I was the only one for the job, I was immediately wary. “What do you need, Admiral?” I asked. At least he wasn’t asking about Torfan. I hadn’t made a decision yet.

“There’s an Alliance training ground where we test weapons and technology in live-fire simulations. One of the VIs we use to simulate enemy tactics in the drills is no longer responding to our override commands. It’s gone rogue.”

Virtual intelligences didn’t just _go rogue._ “Are you telling me this computer is thinking on its own?” I asked. Shit like this didn’t just _happen._

Hackett’s voice sounded almost offended. “We’re not stupid, Shepard. This is a virtual intelligence, not a true AI. It’s not self-aware, and it can’t access any external systems. We didn’t do anything illegal here.”

I shook my head. If I had a credit for every time someone high up in the brass uttered that phrase, I could retire to my own private star system with shoot-on-sight security.

“Virtual intelligence support is critical to our military success,” he continued, not waiting for me to respond. “VIs process thousands of status reports and react in nanoseconds. No human can do that. We need you to fight your war through the training ground to the VI core, and manually disable it.”

Right, because I had so much free time to pop off to the Local Cluster and do that. “Can’t you disable it remotely?” I suggested, scratching my forehead.

“Our fail safes aren’t responding. The VI operates on a closed network. It can’t affect any external systems, but we don’t have any direct access to its processes. We could bomb it from orbit,” he added, pre-empting my next argument, “but the damage to the facility would be catastrophic. We’d prefer to have someone shut down the core. Someone like you. I know Spectres answer to the Council, but you’re still human. You’re still part of the Alliance military, and right now, we need you. The VI controls all of the facility’s weapons, drones, and automated defences. You’re the only one who can pull this off, Shepard. Good luck.”

Scowling, I plotted the course back to the Exodus Cluster. I’d go complete my investigation into the heat signatures, then I’d go take care of the stupid VI. Hackett had made it clear that the Alliance needed me, regardless of my standing with the Council. That was comforting; if shit went south with Saren, the Alliance would still support me. I was an outsider to galactic politics, an object to be treated with utmost suspicion and caution. But to human politics, I was in, I was one of them. For as long as I took care of their problems, anyway. I was suddenly acutely aware of the situation, as though I was having some kind out out-of-body experience. Every action I took had to be considered with care and regard for all possible outcomes. Perhaps I was not as ready for this as I’d expected myself to be.

As we settled in for the flight, I began to make my way around the _Normandy_ , familiarising myself with the crew. To my surprise, there was a lot of support for my leadership, though the loss of Captain Anderson was deeply felt. Since he was up on the CIC with me, I began an informal background check. He was wary of the alien crew I’d brought aboard, but more trusting of my judgement than I’d have given him credit for without asking. He’d been on the _Agincourt_ during the Skyllian Blitz, I discovered, earning his officer’s commission. His grandfather had taught him ship navigation when he was a boy, igniting a life-long passion that he’d turned into a remarkable career.

As we made another relay jump, I relocated to the cockpit for the light show.

“Commander. Something you need?” Joker glanced up at me briefly, concentrating on his visual display. He might act like an ass half the time, but he worked harder than anyone else on the ship.

He’d been top of his class in flight school and had dozens of commendations in his file. But there was still one thing nagging at me – that one red flag. _Special consideration._

He told me about his Vrolik’s Syndrome; the disease he’d been born with. Shifting in his seat he raised his pant-leg up to his ankle and I could see the painfully thin bones through the papery skin. Sitting down the way he was, I couldn’t tell.

“You’re not going to break a bone trying to fly the ship, are you?” I asked, attempting to make light of the situation.

“I don’t fly with my feet, Commander.” He snapped, prickly as a Mojave cactus. “I’m fine as long as I’m in this chair. I gotta be real careful when I get up to take a piss though. I can do my job as well as anyone else on this ship. Better, actually. So, don’t worry about it.”

I changed the subject. “Why does everyone call you Joker?”

He shrugged. “It’s a lot shorter than saying Alliance Flight Lieutenant Jeff Moreau. Plus, I love to make little children laugh.”

 _Right._ “I was just thinking how much you reminded me of Santa Claus.”

“Look, I didn’t pick the name. One of the instructors in flight school used to bug me about never smiling. She started calling me Joker and it stuck.”

“Why didn’t you ever smile?” I was amused now, acutely aware that I was being annoying, but not caring.

Joker rolled his eyes exaggeratedly. “I worked my ass off in flight-school, Commander. The world’s not going to hand you anything if you go around grinning like an idiot. By the end of the year, I was the best pilot in the Academy. Even better than the instructors. And everybody knew it. They’d all gotten their asses kicked by the sickly kid with the creaky little legs. One guess who was smiling at graduation.”

I could imagine. “Sounds almost as bad as Vila Militar,” I commented, and he gazed up at me suddenly.

“How was it?” he wanted to know.

No one had ever asked me that before. I had to think before I answered. “Brutal.” I answered finally. “There were days when I thought I was going to die. Or worse, that I wouldn’t get through it. That’s what kept me going, actually. Dropping out would have been humiliating.”

He was incredulous. “Right, because being an N6 isn’t a highly respected designation,” his sarcasm was cutting.

“That’s not the point,” I protested. “I wanted to be the best. It’s like you said, no one’s going to hand you anything if you go around grinning like an idiot. You work hard, you make something of yourself.”

“You don’t need to convince me,” he replied quietly.

He took us in to the Exodus Cluster, making a beeline for the star system Utopia. We scoured the edges of the system fruitlessly for sixteen hours, finding nothing that we hadn’t come across before.

“Shepard, there’s nothing here,” Alenko explained for the umpteenth time, static electricity from his biotic implant crackling through his hair. “This is a waste of time.”

Growling, I turned to Joker again. “Anything?” I demanded.

“Actually,” he glanced up at the lieutenant guiltily. “I’ve captured an SOS transmission that bounced off a comm-buoy from a nearby system. Asgard,”

“Hello. Hello? I heard your transmission. Can you hear me? They haven’t found me yet, but I can’t talk long. Please. Shut down the fusion torches or we’re all going to die. God, I hope you’re hearing this. Hello. Hello? I heard your transmission. Can you hear me? They -”

He shut off the message. We didn’t need to hear it again. He tapped something on his display, and the _Normandy_ ’s VI piped up.

“Status: sensors reveal three fusion torches propelling Asteroid X57. At its’ current rate of acceleration, the asteroid will collide with Terra Nova in approximately four hours. Analysis: torches must be disabled to cease the acceleration.”

I’d been assigned to a mission on Terra Nova before. It wasn’t just a farming colony or a science post. We had built cities on Terra Nova. I didn’t need to say that any kind of asteroid collision would have grave consequences.

“Commander?” Lieutenant Alenko snapped me out of my reverie.

“We’re done here. Pressly, plot a course for Asgard. Joker, you know what to do.”

The chorus of ‘aye’s and ‘yes ma’am’s that followed bolstered my morale. Maybe we hadn’t found anything in the Utopia system. But maybe we’d be in time to save the day somewhere else.

 

~

 

Terra Nova had been colonised in 2152 and had a growing population of 4.4 million people. I’d been stationed in the capital, Scott, an industrialised city where platinum mining was a billion-credit economy. Retro-futurism and turian architecture had inspired the urban planning department, and skyscrapers made of glass and polished silver metals kissed the clouds.

It was the closest planet to the sun, Asgard, making it a scientific anomaly, but the distance was sufficient to maintain a healthy biosphere. You could see the system’s Jovian gas giant, Borr, from the surface of Terra Nova, a novelty I couldn’t get used to during my time there.

I divided the crew into teams, by making them draw coloured OSDs. Alenko and Williams both drew blue, Vakarian and Tali drew red, leaving yellow to Wrex, who declared himself my auxiliary. “For when you need the extra firepower,” he growled, glaring at Tali.

I ignored her indignation and called red to meet me in the cargo hold. I’d need Tali’s aptitude for technology in figuring out how to shut down the fusion torches, and it seemed likely I’d need Vakarian for engineering. I had no idea what we were walking into down there.

I deployed the Mako, landing heavily on the barren surface of Asteroid X57. According to the short-range scanners, we’d landed not far from an anomaly that had gone unnoticed by the long-range scanners. It was worth checking out. We drove south-south-west to a small bunker, exiting the vehicle cautiously. Just outside the door we found the body of a man, covered in bruises with a pistol round in the back of his head.

“G. Mendel,” I read off the tag on his uniform.

“Looks like a close-range execution,” Vakarian confirmed under his breath, shaking his head. Inside the bunker, we raided the first aid and technician kits before checking the computer log.

**_SURVEY STATION 3_ **

**_LOG: G. MENDEL (ENG.)_ **

**_The central transmission tower is on the fritz again. No one ever listens to my warnings about single points of failure. I’m surprised our surface comms work half as well as they do. When Slajs shows up to relieve me, I’ll go see if I can get the old girl back up and running._ **

“Move out,” I ordered the team. There were no clues here, and this asteroid had an imminent expiry date.

The next closest marker was a transmission tower, presumably the one from Mendel’s log. The damn thing was busted. “Do you think you can fix this?” I asked Tali urgently.

Without replying, she pried open the circuitry with her omni-blade and set to work.

“That should do it,” she told me, waving the business end of a tiny soldering torch in the air to cool it down. My omni-tool pinged, and several locations on our map lit up that hadn’t been there a second ago.

“Nice.” I told her, impressed. The transmission tower was situated high up on a cliff, overlooking one of the fusion torches. My next destination.

“You’re headed in the right direction,” the voice from the SOS communication suddenly blared over the radio, and I nearly drove the rover off the cliff. “I don’t know who you are but I’m – damn it! Got to go.”

The fusion torch facility was surrounded by five heavy turrets. Five seemed excessive for a human operation, but I wasn’t in the mood to judge. I managed to outmanoeuvre the rockets and disable them with the Mako’s rocket launcher. We entered with our weapons drawn, completely blind to what we might find inside. Bodies littered the foyer, and we stepped over them, the interior doors parting to reveal –

“Batarians,” I hissed.

I was a huge advocate for interspecies cooperation. I had a turian on my crew, and most of humanity hadn’t forgiven them for the First Contact War. But batarians? I had to draw a line somewhere. Batarians were behind the Skyllian Blitz. Batarians were behind Torfan. Batarians had – well, I had plenty of damn good reasons to loathe batarians.

“Harak!” the leader howled, and the varren at his foot sat up to attention. Ugh. That explained the smell. Varren s _tank_. Not as bad as klixen, but still. Malodorous. “Chekt! Chekt!”

I didn’t speak batarian, but I knew their word for _attack_. I’d heard it more times than I could count.

“Open fire!” I spat, not waiting to see if the team was following me. I opened a singularity, watching the creatures become weightless, entirely at the mercy of my gun. We made short work of them. Tali nudged me, gesturing behind the pirates. Four fuel tanks lined the walls. I felt a smile creeping across my lips as I pulled the pin from a grenade on my belt and hurled it with everything I had across the room.

It exploded on impact and I looked away as the room ignited, ignoring the screams of the dying. When it was safe to go ahead, we made our way into the back room, finding nothing but barracks and lockers, filled with the personal possessions of the people who had lived here before the batarian pirates had murdered them. “I should’ve known,” I muttered to myself.

Upstairs, we located the torch controls, a simple computer system. I pressed my palm against the console and waited for the green light to fade to nothing.

“I’m reading that the torch is offline,” the SOS voice blared on the radio, startling me. “Was that you?” she whispered. “Can you hear me?”

I regained my composure. “Who are you? What’s going on?”

“My name’s Kate Bowman. I’m an engineer. I was part of the team assigned to bring this asteroid to Terra Nova. We were attacked yesterday by batarian extremists. I’ve been hiding since they arrived. I think they know the torch went out.” I could hear the creeping dread in her voice.

“Why are they doing this?” I asked.

“I don’t know. But if this asteroid isn’t slowed, millions of people on Terra Nova are going to die. If I find out anything I’ll – I’ve got to go. Good luck.”

“Kate?” I hissed into the radio. “Kate?” she was gone. “Move out,” I ordered the team. I checked my omni-tool. Shutting down one torch had given us an extra half-hour, but we couldn’t afford to waste it. We needed to –

“Hey!” I snapped. There was a man, human thankfully, in the foyer where we’d come in.

He jumped, gasping, and accidentally fired a shot at me. My shield deflected it, and I brushed myself off. “Oh, God!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to – are you hurt?”

“Takes more than one shot to bring me down,” I informed him casually.

“Sorry.” He hung his head. “I didn’t even realise you were human until… well. Guess I’m not much of a soldier.”

I pointed at my face. “Batarian, four eyes. Human, two. Leave the fighting to me from now on. Commander Shepard, Systems Alliance.” I introduced myself.

“Simon.” He replied. “Simon Atwell. I’m the chief engineer on this rock. Listen, we don’t have much time. The batarians fired up the fusion torches. You’ve got to shut them down before we hit Terra Nova!” he picked up the pace, frantic. “There are four million people down there, Shepard. I – my family. They live in Aronas. My kids and grandkids. Nice community, good schools…” he trailed off, the imminent horror too much to face.

“I don’t have time to do the math in my head. What happens if we don’t stop this rock?” I wanted to know.

“X57 is twenty-two kilometres long. Twice the size of the asteroid that wiped out the Earth’s dinosaurs. It would be like millions of fusion bombs striking at once. Millions.” He began to pace, talking with his hands. “The heat of the blast – a thousand kilometres away, clothes will ignite. There’ll be global wildfires. Air shock will flatten everything for hundreds of kilometres. Terra Nova will die, Shepard. Not just our colony, the planet. There’ll be climate shift. Mass extinctions. The ecosystem won’t recover for thousands of years. Millions, maybe.”

I thought hard, and quickly. “Is there any chance it’ll land in the oceans?”

Simon’s eyes filled with horror. “That would be even worse! Tsunamis would sweep inland at hundreds of kilometres per hour! Millions of tonnes of water would be vaporised at the point of impact. Global cloud coverage. The plants could all die. And if they go, the whole ecosystem rolls over. I’d have to run the numbers but take my word for it. It’d be bad.”

Something was amiss. “This doesn’t make any sense. Batarians run criminal gangs. Unethical, but profitable. They don’t destroy worlds. What does this gain them?”

“I’ve heard all the stories.” Simon added. “Slave rings, ranching people like animals. Pirate bands burning colonies to the ground. But this is… the Citadel Conventions forbid asteroid drops. I never thought the batarians would go this far.”

“The Citadel Conventions only apply to Council-aligned races,” I reminded him. “The batarian government is a rogue state.”

“The batarians aren’t stupid!” Simon protested. “If they made a policy of this, the Council would declare war on them.” _I’d believe that when I saw it._ “My opinion: these guys aren’t backed by their government. They’ve got to be working on their own.”

“You were on the ground when this happened?” I confirmed, and he nodded. “How many batarians have you seen, and where?” I needed an idea of what I was up against. Of what we were up against.

“They landed at the main facility. It’s locked down now, they changed the pass codes. No idea what’s going on inside. I did see groups head out to each of the torch stations. Couldn’t say how many, though. Enough to give you a fight.”

“Any idea who’s behind this? Who’s leading them? That might provide a clue,” I knew a few batarians with big enough grudges to try to pull something like this.

“I heard a couple of them talking. They mentioned a ‘Balak’. It sounded like he’s the one in charge.” Simon said. “They didn’t seem convinced this was a good idea, but they were scared of the guy. Scared enough to do what he wanted.”

Balak, unfortunately, was a fairly common batarian name. Like Mohammed, or Smith; so fairly coincidental. “Batarians everywhere and I need to shut down all three torches,” I summed up, not giving my suspicions a second thought. “Anything else I should know?”

Nervously, he looked back over his shoulder at the door. “One of the torches is surrounded by live blasting caps. We were set up to excavate when we arrived at Terra Nova. I rigged them with proximity detectors. That tank of yours will set them off, so you’ll have to go in on foot. Even then, they’ll explode if you get too close. Just go slow and easy and you should be fine.

 _Fucking hell._ For a moment, I was speechless. “Should I requisition a cow to walk through ahead of me?” I demanded. This was fucking unbelievable.

“Look, you can disable them,” to his credit, he was apologetic. “Just not remotely. I didn’t have the equipment to set it up differently. There are manual controls by the entrance to the torch facility, inside the blast zone. You can disarm the caps there.”

I scratched at my face, fingertips catching in the valleys of my scars.

“One last thing,” Simon added. “I had a crew working off-site when the attack hit. I’m worried about them. These batarians are ruthless. I saw them smash the faceplates of guys working vacuum. And those varren… I don’t think they always wait for a corpse before feeding.”

I smoothed my face over. I didn’t need to tell him straight away. “I’ll look for them. But the torches have to be my priority.” _No promises_.

“Yeah.” His face fell. “You’re right. Saving Terra Nova’s more important than my team.” _The few for the many,_ was the unspoken motto of humanity. “There were a bunch of engineers over at the main facility, but they’re probably all dead. That, or being held hostage by the batarians.”

“A woman named Kate Bowman contacted me. The batarians haven’t found her yet.”

“Katie’s alive?” he was astonished. “She’s one of my best engineers. She signed on with her brother, Aaron, I think his name is. He’s part of the security detail. I hope they’re okay.”

My omni-tool pinged, letting me know we were wasting time. “Give me a worst-case scenario,” I felt so in above my head. “We can’t stop the asteroid. Could the colony be evacuated?”

“Evacu – ? Shepard, it took thirty years for the population to grow that large. I’m sure they’re moving people to remote areas, but they’d never be able to get more than a few thousand off world. We just don’t have enough ships. No one does. Well, maybe the quarians,” he added, noticing Tali. “But I don’t see them suddenly showing up and offering us a ride.”

“You’d better find a good place to hide. If the batarian come back and find you…” I warned.

He eyed his pistol furtively. “Yeah, I think I’ll make myself scarce. Good luck, Shepard.”

I let Vakarian drive this time, directing him to head for the nearest anomaly on the scanner. It turned out to be a radio bunker, but like before, the first aid kits were well stocked, and I grabbed everything I thought we might need. Tali checked the computer logs, finding only technical logs, a few personal journals, and several amusing promotional messages.

As we drove off towards the nearest marked location, Kate’s voice crackled back over the radio.

“Can you hear me? I’m getting all kinds of interference,” the crackles and whistles overlaid her message, but I could still make out her voice. “Damn this thing,” she cut out, before coming back in clearly. “Sorry, there’s a lot of feedback. I’ll see if I can fix it. In the meantime, just keep doing what you’re doing.”

We found the second science team bunker and raided the crates outside. The batarians hadn’t touched them, nor had they touched the medical kit inside. “Play the last logs,” I instructed Tali, while I examined the woman’s body. Her skin was as scorched as the steel around the bunker door. The batarians had caved it in with explosives. I checked her patches for a name. _C. Hymes._

“This is Doctor Hymes,” her voice chimed out from the computer. “They found me. Damn batarians. I can hear them out there, prowling around, trying to find a way in.” she stifled a sob. “It sounds like they’re attaching something to the door. If I don’t make it, tell my family I love –” the transmission was cut off by a heavy blast.

I ordered the team to move out.

We crested over a natural ridge, and I got my first good view of the second torch – and the terrain around it. I could see the mines, glittering in the dim torchlight. “Damn it!” I swore. “Take us in towards the rear of the building. If they see us coming, they might –” I was cut off by the fire from a heavy turret. “Shit! Reverse!”

The tires screeched in the dust as Vakarian swung the Mako around, and Tali fired relentlessly back at the turrets. “Watch the mines!” she screeched in warning, and he released a string of turian swearwords I didn’t need a translation for.

We took a few hits, rolling the Mako as our rear and our rear auxiliary tire exploded, but managed to get out unscathed.

“The auxiliary axle is bent, and the rear one’s blown clean off,” Vakarian assessed. “I can fix it when we get back on board the _Normandy_ , but in the meantime, we should take care of –”

“The most immediate problem,” I agreed. We were so close to the torch I could feel the heat of it through the back of my suit. “Everyone, shields up. And increase the sensitivity on your suit sensors to maximum.” I approached the security ring around the minefield first. “We take this one step at a time, we all get out of here alive.”

I made it about five steps when the sensor went off. I took a step to the left, and the pings increased. I took two steps right, and they decreased. I could hear Tali breathing heavily behind her mask. It felt like an eternity before we made it safely to the command centre. We crept along the side of the building, practically on our toes the whole time, breaths held in anticipation of annoying little beeps that never came.

Just when I thought we’d made it, several batarians spilled out of the doors and began a frontal assault. I caught two of them in a biotic lift and tossed them out into the field, watching the dust erupt around their bodies. “Tali, get to the switchboard for the mines. Vakarian, with me. We’ll provide cover. _Move_.”

With Tali behind us, we moved out into the open. “Feel like a little target practice?” I asked Vakarian slyly.

“Yes, ma’am,” he replied, and I opened a singularity on the field, catching the three remaining batarians in its gravity well. They floated, massless and helpless, as Vakarian picked them off with his sniper rifle.

“Area secured,” Tali announced.

“Well done, team.” I commended them. “But that was the easy part.”

I had expected more bodies to litter the floor of the foyer here, but it was curiously devoid of anything suggesting violence. We moved on to the warehouse floor, only to discover that the batarians inside had set up half a dozen security drones. We dispatched the most immediate threats with a handful of grenades, but the warehouse provided a well-covered field, giving the enemy a slight advantage.

Tali managed to hack one of the rocket drones and disable a fair portion of the batarians upstairs, while I happened to find a good spot of cover from which to lurk behind and take shots at the remaining drones, one at a time. I could see Vakarian out of the corner of my eye engaged in hand to hand combat with at least two, maybe three batarians, but with the number of rockets flying around the room and crap flying everywhere – not to mention things catching on fire – I couldn’t do more than overclock his shields and hopefully prevent him from being shot at close range.

With the last drone down, I leapt over the crate I’d ducked behind and sprinted across the floor, making a grab for the last batarian from behind and jamming my fingers in his eyes. The turian regained his footing and kicked the guy halfway across the room. He landed hard against a concrete pillar, skull cracking sickeningly, and fell to the ground. He didn’t get up again, and the three of us made our way upstairs.

Again, shutting it down was simple. As the green light blinked out Kate Bowman reappeared via radio, sounding anxious.

“Are you there? You’ve got to hurry. You’ve really pissed them off. Their leader’s setting charges everywhere. I think he’s going to blow this whole facility,”

“Get away from there!” a second voice ordered, and I recognised the low register of a batarian. I motioned the team to complete silence. If we gave Kate away… well. I didn’t have to tell them what would happen.

“Don’t shoot! Please!” she begged, and I thought my heart might break for her.

“Who’s. Shutting down. The torches?” a third voice asked, also batarian, slow and quiet-like. We heard only silence over the radio. “I won’t ask you again.” More silence. And then – a gunshot. Close range, unmistakeable. Tali’s hand twitched against her throat. “Find this problem and deal with it.” The voice ordered. It must have been the leader. “Get her out of here!” he ordered, and the radio switched off.

“They shot her,” Tali gasped.

I placed a hand on her shoulder, gently. “These batarians will pay.” I promised.

Outside, we walked back to the Mako. I was reminded of an old saying, _it’s cold in space._ That was true enough, my suit felt cool, and I switched the warmer on.

“Can we make it on four tires?” I asked Vakarian.

He opened the hatch for me to climb in. “Shouldn’t be a problem. This is why they have six wheels in the first place.”

I put him on the guns and eased myself into the driver’s seat. According to my omni-tool, shutting down two torches gave us an extra two and a half hours. We drove to the third torch mostly in silence, taking out the remaining heavy turrets with a few well-placed rockets and some experimental driving manoeuvres.

The batarians inside gave us hell. A varren latched onto my shoulder with its teeth, denting my armour uncomfortably until Tali wrenched it off, stabbing deep into its neck with her omni-blade, splattering red-violet blood over my face.

Upstairs, I turned the final torch off with no small amount of satisfaction. We waited a minute for Kate’s now-familiar voice to spring up over the radio, to no avail. In the silence, we heard the foyer doors sliding open downstairs. My eyes flicked to Tali, and then Vakarian, who shrugged, checking the safety on his assault rifle.

We crept down the way we came, coming face to face with twelve batarians, each with two varren. “Hold it right there,” I recognised the first batarian’s voice from Kate’s last radio call. “This doesn’t have to end in bloodshed.” I didn’t reply, looking at the smeared blood we’d already shed, on the floor, on the walls, splattered all over the crates… To make a point, I reached my hand up to my cheek, wiping at the blood streaked over my face. “Don’t come any closer,” he warned, shotgun aimed right at my chest. “We can do this the hard way, or we can end this peacefully.”

 _Peacefully? Did they think I was stupid?_ “I didn’t think you batarians knew the meaning of the word,” I sneered.

“Look, I’m just doing my job here. Hijacking this rock wasn’t my idea.” He protested, like I gave a crap. “I signed on to make a little profit. A quick slave-grab. Nothing more.”

Oh well, that was fine then. _Not._ “This isn’t just a slave-grab anymore. Millions of people are going to die.”

He grimaced. “Don’t you think I know that? I’m just following orders here. If it were up to me, we’d have already left.”

“Maybe, you should take your men and go. Before you get hurt.” I suggested.

The batarian shook his head. “I don’t think so. Balak would skin me alive and sell my hide out of spite.” Interesting. I was of a mind to do the same thing to him. “Crazy bastard. This whole mission’s gone to hell and I’m gonna pay for it.” He muttered, mostly to himself.

“So why do you listen to him?” I replied silkily.

He glanced up at me, annoyed. “Good question. I had a bad feeling about this from the moment we landed. Now Balak wants you dead. And what Balak wants, Balak gets. I can’t change that.”

I bared my teeth at him in a rough approximation of a grin. “Spoken like a true lackey,” I heard Vakarian snicker over my shoulder. “You get me out of here, and I’ll take care of Balak. Or,” I paused, eyeballing the carnage around us. “You can take your chances with me.”

“An, uh, interesting proposal.” He was sizing me up, the fucking wanker. “It certainly has… benefits over the current situation.” He turned to his men. “Shut it down. This is Balak’s problem now.” He watched them packing themselves up. “I hope you’re as quick with a gun as you are with your promises. For both our sakes.”

Unfortunately for him, I promised nothing. “Balak’s a dead man. And if I ever see you in human territory again, so are you. Understand?”

“Perfectly.” He passed me a plastic swipe card, the old-school kind. “Balak’s holed up in the main facility. You’ll need this to get in. Don’t underestimate him. He’s a mean bastard.” I shoved the card in my wrist compartment. “Let’s go. We’re getting off this rock,” he announced.

I gave him a five-minute head-start.

“What was that?” Vakarian snapped.

“Insurance,” I snapped back. “We were outnumbered, with no cover and no backup. We still have to get out of here alive. We’ve got our own mission to worry about.”

“We could have taken them!” he protested.

I shook my head. “That wasn’t a risk I was willing to take. Not when there was a way to get us out of there without endangering our lives or our mission. We’re not a suicide squad, Vakarian.”

He looked back towards the door. “So we just let them get away?”

“Don’t sweat the small stuff,” I told him.

“What?”

Right – turians and anachronisms. “Never mind. Those guys weren’t important. This Balak guy? He’s a galactic terrorist. That takes priority.”

He seemed unconvinced but fell in line anyway.

We got the Mako to the third research post, with a little difficulty. When we opened the bunker, though, a trio of security drones sprang out, opening fire on us. I dodged a rocket, firing back, but one-on-one we made short work of them, with Tali hacking the third one to attack the others.

There was nothing useful in the crates inside, and the first aid kit hadn’t been restocked. The computer was on, though, with the last user still logged in.

**_SURVEY STATION 2_ **

**_LOG: R. MONTOYA (CH. SURVEYOR)_ **

**_Communications are down and there are non-corporate drop ships landing near the main facility. There were flashes of light over the horizon. I can’t be certain, but I’d guess it’s heavy arms fire. As per emergency protocol, I’m arming the defence drones. I’m not waiting for my pickup; I’m going to investigate._ **

“Here, Commander.” Vakarian was outside, kneeling by the ground. A set of human footprints lead off to the east.

We drove the Mako slowly, looking for any signs a man might be hiding nearby. Tali spotted him first as we slid into a small ditch. I got out, alone, inspecting the body. It was Montoya, according to his tags. He’d been downed by a single long-range shot to the back of the head.

With fresh weight on my shoulders, I elbowed my way back into the rover.

At the main facility, there were six heavy turrets, three on timed moving platforms. Vakarian swerved, and we narrowly avoided obliteration by rocket. “Change tactics,” I suggested. “Drive the Mako in a figure eight, and Tali, take out the cannons one at a time. We should avoid most of the heavy fire.”

The thing about turrets was their predictability. They were automated, programmed by a computer, and it was easy to pick out the patterns if you were expecting them and knew how to avoid them. The figure eight tactic I had learned on the Luna live-fire base, and I decided that we would head there directly once we got off this asteroid and bring down the rogue VI. What I’d learned there had saved our lives today, or at the very least the longevity of my Mako.

The facility doors opened immediately into an elevator, and I pressed the plastic swipe-card up against it. The descent wasn’t long, only a few minutes, and we stepped out into a deserted reception area. The swipe card got us through the main doors, where the batarians were waiting.

They had drones as well, which were my immediate concern. They had better aim than the pirates did. The facility had several floors, and many balconies overlooking lower levels, which came in handy for tossing batarians over and flattening them on the floors below. Our combat strategy was uncoordinated, but somehow, we made it work, and I was reminded of an old-world American adage: the enemy can’t predict your actions if you don’t even know what you’re doing. I made a mental note to drill the crew in combat manoeuvres when we got back to the ship.

“Die… human…” the last batarian fell at my feet, and I kicked the corpse away.

I was assessing the situation when I heard a voice behind me that sent a chill down my spine.

“You humans,” Balak announced himself, descending the grand staircase from some upper laboratory he’d been holed away in. “You’re almost more trouble than you’re worth.”

I knew, looking at him. I don’t know how. I don’t know why, but I knew. This was the cocksucker behind the Torfan raid. “I’m just getting started,” I told him, dusting off my gauntlets.

“Predictable. But this is over.” God, he was so fucking smug. So damn sure of himself.

“I’m leaving this asteroid. If you try to stop me, I’ll detonate these charges and your helper and her friends are all going die.” He paused, studying me. I wasn’t fooled. Kate was already dead, and I wasn’t letting this asshole leave without a fight. “Funny. I said almost the exact same thing to your brother… _Shepard._ ”

I could feel my blood, freezing in my veins. “You don’t get to leave, Balak. Not after what you’ve done.”

“What I’ve done?” he gestured to himself, with mock indignation. “This is nothing compared to what’s been done to the batarians. We’ve been forced into exile. Forced to survive on what we can scrounge up. It’s been like that for decades.”

“Don’t make it sound like you’re the innocent party here,” I warned. “You brought it upon yourselves.”

All six of Balak’s nostrils flared. “Really?” You invaded our space. Took our resources. And when we asked the Council for aid, they brushed us off. We were left to defend ourselves. But the humans were stronger than us. We knew that. The Council knew that. But it didn’t matter.” He stabbed the air angrily in my direction. “It was you. You and your kind are the only reason we’re in this position.”

“How does killing innocent people make up for that?” I demanded. “Didn’t you take enough lives on Torfan? During the Skyllian Blitz? Your men murdered my brother, Balak. Do you expect me to just look the other way?”

“I had no other options!” he roared, spittle flying. “Sometimes you need to get someone’s attention before they’ll listen.” The varren at his foot began to growl, ropes of drool glistening between its jaws.

“Is that what Elysium was? A way to get our attention? Well, you got it. And when we responded you ran like cowards, hiding on Torfan like cowering dogs. Now you want to start it all over again.”

“Enough!” he snapped. “You couldn’t possibly understand. Actually, you just don’t want to understand. And I’m done wasting my breath. Now, if you want your friends to live, I suggest you step aside.” Balak opened his omni-tool display, showing me the footage of several scientists – alive – locked up in a lab on the other side of the facility.

My trigger finger twitched, but my hand stayed. “You can go,” I told him, mouth barely moving to form the words. “But this isn’t over. I’ll find you eventually.”

“Maybe.” He grinned, showing me his blackened teeth. “But I made sure you won’t follow me today. Those charges are still on a timer. Better hurry, if you want to save your friends.”

Balak and his men made for the door, releasing drones behind them. I ordered the team to take care of the drones while I sprinted for the first bomb. It was a mushroom-shaped batarian model, and I had no idea how to disarm. I slathered the thing in omni-gel and shattered the circuitry, watching the display flicker and die. I breathed a sigh of relief, and sprinted for the next one, ducking under the live fire.

The last one was up near the laboratory where the scientists were holed up. I squirted the viscous orange slime all over it, repeating the process, before sinking my back against the wall. Downstairs, I could hear Tali and Simon Atwell calling out to the hostages.

I let my head fall into my hands. To let that arrogant, murdering ass-wipe get away… I took deep breaths, keeping myself together. BJ might have been the biggest asshole I knew, and he’d gotten his men slaughtered on Torfan… but the least he deserved, the very least, should have been his sister avenging his death. My heart just wasn’t in it. I was deeply relieved that the scientists had survived, that we’d saved Terra Nova. I knew, deep down, that killing Balak wasn’t worth the lives of those hostages. It wouldn’t bring my brother back.

“He left?” Simon interrupted my thoughts. I looked up wearily. “Is that… is that all right?”

“In the future, run away from the sound of gunfire,” I suggested, avoiding the question.

Simon held out his hand, helping me to my feet. “I – there might have been something I could have done to help. I thought I should be here. I know this asteroid better than anyone.” He argued. “You did it,” he added softly. “Another hour and our course would have been irreversible. I ran the numbers, Shepard. X57 would have struck near the capital city. The most densely populated region.” He walked me down to the lab, where the scientists were brushing themselves off, crying, looking dazed. “But that’s not going to happen, thanks to you. Is Katie in here? Is she all right? Is her team?” he asked anxiously.

“I let Balak walk so he wouldn’t blow them up,” I growled, not mentioning Kate. “If they’re not all right, he’s going to have a short, unhappy life.”

“You let him go to save them?” Simon’s eyes were saucers in his head. “Is that – will you get in trouble for that? I mean, he could do the same thing somewhere else. Couldn’t he?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, he could. Balak seemed like a practical man. Practical, but, callous. I’m sure if he’d been in my place, they’d all be dead now, along with all the terrorists. But I’m not like Balak.” Not like my brother. “I’m not going to sacrifice people who happen to be between me and my target.”

“So, what happens now?” Simon asked. “The bad guys get away?”

“Have you ever hunted, Simon? Actually stalked an animal in the wilderness?” It was one of my favourite downtime activities, driving down to Rio Grande do Sul for the weekend, hunting wild boar.

He thought for a minute. “Can’t say as I have,”

“Hunting an animal requires patience, and discipline. I’ll wait for this batarian animal to pop his head up again. And then? I’ll come down on him like the wrath of God.” And that, I decided, was a sincere promise.

Simon looked blankly over my shoulder. “Well. I wouldn’t want you after me.” He looked back. “Shepard? Thank you. For my grandchildren’s lives.”

“One more thing,” I added. “You asked me to look into your missing engineers.”

“Have you found them?”

“Yes, all of them. Their bodies, anyway.”

There was a long silence before Simon replied. “Oh.” He told me simply. “I see. Well, then. I guess it’s better than not knowing.”

“Take care of yourself,” it was time to leave, and let the man grieve.

He shook my hand. “Be well, Shepard. We owe you.”

My team were looking after the hostages, and I joined them. I shook hands with a few of them, took names and statements for later enquiries.

A young woman was standing over the body of a man about her age, staring at me with wide eyes. I approached her uncertainly, wondering where the body of Kate Bowman was, unless…

“I can’t believe you let Balak go, to save us,” her voice trembled, but there was no mistaking it. “I half expected you to just let us die. Sacrifice the few for the many.”

I absolutely would have, too, if I’d had no other choice. But today wasn’t Balak’s day to die. Nor was it Kate Bowman’s. “I don’t plan to let Balak get away with this,” I told her honestly, wondering who the boy was. “I’ll find him one day, and he will pay for this.” _And other things._

She smiled, though her eyes welled up with tears. “You sound like my brother,” she looked down at the body, and my heart seized up. “He was always so stubborn. But always willing to do the right thing. No matter what.”

“Your brother… was the one Balak killed?” I began to see the similarities between the faces; the same nose, the same pointed, elfin ears.

“Yes. Aaron.” The tears spilled over, leaving wet tracks down her cheeks. “He was the one who convinced me to join the team here. Said it would be an adventure.” Kate wiped at her face furiously. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I should see to Aaron.”

“I understand. You’ve been through enough today.” I echoed the words that Jon Grissom had said to me, the day I’d learned BJ had been killed. “I’ll get out of your way.

“Thank you,” she replied, sweeping her blonde hair out of her eyes. “Uh, I don’t even know your name.”

“Commander Shepard. With Special Tactics and Reconnaissance.” And then, I did something I’d never done. It felt important, then, that this woman, this girl, with whom I shared so much, have something personal. Something I’d only ever shared with my own brother. “ _Juliet Shepard_.”

We shook hands, only once. “Thank you, Commander Shepard. You’re not exactly what I expected but thank you.”

“That was a brave thing you did, Kate. Contacting me on the radio. Risking your life.”

She smiled again, not looking at me. “’Stubborn and determined’ runs in the family. My father was in the Alliance, back on Earth. I think he was disappointed none of his kids signed up, but he’d be proud of Aaron.” She sniffed. “Sorry. I’m just…”

“You’ve been through a lot,” I repeated. “I’ll get out of your way. So long, Kate.”

We said our final goodbyes to the science team left on X57 and headed outside for pickup.

 

~

 

I debriefed the rest of the crew in the comm-room, replaying some of the footage from my suit’s camera.

“What I don’t understand is, why they were moving the asteroid in the first place,” Williams commented.

I nodded at Vakarian and he launched into an explanation. “The X57 team’s briefing was to drag the asteroid into Terra Nova’s orbit and mine it out. The asteroid was filled with rare minerals, and then the husk of the asteroid can be turned into an orbital station on the cheap.”

The chief made a satisfied noise. “Clever. You know, take the science and the batarian terrorists and you’ve got the plot of a blockbuster action vid,” she commented, earning a few laughs from the rest of the crew.

“Rewind and hold at three, twenty-five, thirty,” Alenko requested, and Joker obliged, rewinding the footage. Balak’s ugly green face filled the screen. “You have history with this guy, Commander?”

Every single pair of eyes turned to me. I was not unprepared for the question, but my throat felt tight, threatening to close completely. “Lieutenant-Commander William John Shepard.” I answered. A few people’s eyes narrowed. I wasn’t surprised. “His friends called him BJ. We were twins.”

“And Balak killed him?” the lieutenant confirmed.

“Look, off the record? The Alliance sent LC Shepard and company to raid Torfan. I’ve read the mission reports. BJ mutinied against his commanding officer and split his team up, to raid every batarian stronghold on that moon at once. They were hopelessly outnumbered, and they got slaughtered. You know what they call him on Earth? _The Butcher of Torfan._ If Balak killed him, and I believe that he did, then it was a mercy killing.”

“Is that why you let him go?” Wrex asked, unreadable.

“I let him go to save the science team. When we’re through with Saren I will hunt Balak down into the deepest, darkest corners of the galaxy and drag him back to face justice. But right now, Terra Nova is safe. Until I can say for sure that the rest of the universe is too, then one batarian terrorist doesn’t matter.” I scanned the comm-room. “Will there be any further questions?”

One by one, they all shuffled out, until I was alone with Doctor Chakwas.

“I thought I knew your face,” she told me, not unkindly. “You look just like him, and please don’t take that as an insult.”

I shrugged. It was the truth.

“I worked with him, a long time ago, after the Skyllian Blitz. Hmm, we might have been on the _Hiroshima_ together? Or maybe it was the _Berlin II_ ,” she thought for a moment. “Anyway, it was one of them. He could be a thoughtful young man, but he had the most violent mood swings. And he talked too much.”

I smirked. “Growing up, I had a tough time getting a word in edgewise. Our teachers used to say, ‘William talks enough for both Shepards’ or, ‘William is the mouth and Juliet is the ears’.”

“He talked about you all the time,” she added, her eyes watching my face carefully. “His little sister. He liked to go on long rants about how you broke up ‘the team’, requesting a reassignment.” Her fingers made little air-quotes.

“Is this off the record?” I asked, and the doctor nodded. “I loved my brother. I didn’t love Lieutenant-Commander Shepard. He would rant for hours about I needed him. How I couldn’t do anything without him. We served under Jon Grissom at Elysium. Grissom was the one who told me I should get out from under BJ’s shadow before I got dragged down with him.”

“Your file says he recommended you for N7 training,” Chakwas added, and I confirmed. “The past has a way of catching up with us, doesn’t it? Just remember to stay in the present, and look to the future, Commander.”

With that, she left the comm-room, leaving me on my own. I listened for the quiet humming of the ship, hearing faint voices murmuring outside and downstairs. Finally, I followed her, humming gently to myself. It seemed that teams had their advantages after all.


	7. Artemis Tau

As we cruised through the Charon relay, past Pluto, towards Earth, a feeling of deep, intense peace settled over me. I’d hated growing up there, but still I found comfort in the fact that it was always reliably in the same place I’d left it; and it always would be. It was ubiquitous. Constant. Reassuring.  

I called blue team to the cargo hold. “Did either of you ever train on Luna base?” I asked breezily, climbing last into the Mako.

“I was slated for it, but had my assignment changed at the last minute, due to the Blitz,” Alenko replied.

“My dad took the family on vacation to North America once. It was where we were from, originally.” Williams added. “Never went to Luna base, though I did my time in the Sol system.”

“I learned how to drive this thing out here,” I explained breezily, watching the cargo hold door begin to lift. We’d come a long way in our own system. The Musk Solar Stations on Mercury had been erected way back in 2032, and the research stations on Venus were run by a virtual intelligence, remotely controlled by both NASA and ROSCOSMOS. Mars’ population was currently sitting at about three and a half million, although it had ceased to be a major tourist destination, some twenty years before I was born. I’d been there before, spent time in Lowell City at the MarsGene research base. MarsGene had developed the L3 biotic implant, and they’d shuttled about thirty potential candidates from all over space to their labs for testing.

There was no record of any successful landings on Jupiter, although to be honest, I don’t think there had been a serious attempt in about a century. Binary Helix had a few facilities on the moons though. Nautilus on Europa was the largest, and then there was Obelisk on Ganymede, the only two that had produced anything notable. Saturn had a viable economy – I did my hostile environment training there in 2173. Uranus was no longer the ass-joke of the system; given that it produced several billion tonnes of helium-3 per galactic year for the Alliance and had four hundred thousand permanent residents. Neptune was still a blue paradise, and our little rock Pluto had been re-instated to planet status when the Charon Relay was discovered. Our intergalactic customs facility was installed there. It had such a terrible reputation for hostility to migrant aliens that a popular vid-series was filmed there three months a year.

The Mako bounced gracefully across the surface of the moon. On the short-range scanner I picked up a downed satellite and decided to investigate. Maybe it would explain why the Alliance had lost remote communications with the base. Sure enough, it was the CCCP Luna 23 – the Closed Communications Contact Point.

Alenko ran a few diagnostics for Alliance HQ and then we drove up to the indoor facilities. Outside the base, we could see the Earthrise in the distance, the blue marble visible between the random satellites and bits of space junk that littered the upper atmosphere. I allowed Williams to take a few photos to send back to her family. The first training room was child’s play, a few drones; nothing we weren’t trained to handle. It felt good working with Alliance-trained marines; they knew the hand gestures, the formations, the abbreviated commands.

The computer refused to shut down manually, so I set charges in the server room. The explosion caused a base-wide gas leak, and once again, I had to question Hackett’s insistence that we were just dealing with a ‘rogue VI’.

But, orders were orders. The second training ground was slightly more difficult, the drones had good cover and improved cloaking algorithms, while we were forced to improvise a little. We blew up the computer hardware there, too, causing the kinetic barriers to ‘coincidentally’ malfunction. We had to shoot our way back out. I made a mental note to tell Hackett that next time he could just go ahead and nuke it from orbit.

The third training ground had no cover, and half a dozen advanced rocket drones. A stray rocket narrowly missed killing my lieutenant, blasting him against the wall. I winced; handing him medi-gel. His hard-suit indicated a mild concussion, luckily for him. Oddly enough, this facility had a couple of gas tanks lying around – intended to teach new recruits how to use their environment to get a victory.

Bored of the pointless destruction, I disabled the last computer connection by tossing a grenade into the console room and closing the door behind it. As we listened in to the detonations from the other side of the door, my omni-tool pinged. I had a new message.

**_01001000_ **

**_01000101_ **

**_01001100_ **

**_01010000_ **

I squinted. _Hero? Hail? Maybe Heil?_ I’d taken Morse Code as my language elective, not binary. Besides, I could look it up when we got back to the _Normandy._ The sender wasn’t listed either, I’d have to run a trace. It was probably spam anyway.

“Wanna do something fun?” I asked the team, once we were outside.

Alenko raised an eyebrow. “Fun, ma’am?”

I grinned, climbing back into the Mako without another word. “Take turns on the guns,” I ordered, and the pair shared a look. The tank instructor course was littered with turrets, landmines, potholes, and rough terrain, but I knew it like the back of my hand.

I handled the Mako like a pro, moondust streaking behind us, hollow ammunition rushing by on all sides.

“Move over, lieutenant!” Williams crowed, giving Alenko a friendly shove and taking over the gun controls. “Let the ladies handle this one!” she whooped with laughter, firing the heavy cannon to the east, making the most of the swivel function.

I cheered up as the dust began to settle. “Beat my old record. Thirteen minutes eight seconds.” I recorded the new score on my omni-tool with no small amount of satisfaction. “Mako to _Normandy._ Ready for extraction.”

“Mako, this is _Normandy,_ ” Joker responded. “Stand by for extraction.” He paused. “By the way, Commander, we saw the whole thing from up here. I bet Charlie P thirty credits you’d miss the last hairpin turn.”

“Sorry to disappoint you, Flight Lieutenant Moreau.” I replied smoothly. “But if you ever bet against me again, I’ll have you cited for gambling on duty.”

I heard laughter over the radio. “Yes, ma’am.”

 

~

 

On board, I left Pressly to chart a course to Artemis Tau while I showered and collected my rations. Wrex was alone in the mess, presumably because he made most of the human crew uncomfortable with his surly krogan presence.

“Nice ship you’ve got, Shepard. What can I do for you?”

I eyed him speculatively. “What’s your story, Wrex?

He snorted. “There’s no story. Go ask the quarian if you want stories.”

Of course, I intended to do so later, but that was none of his business. “You krogan live for centuries. Don’t tell me you haven’t had a few interesting adventures.”

His red eyes glittered down at me. “Well, there was this one time the turians almost wiped out our entire race. That was fun.”

I tore into my tube of protein paste with my teeth. “I heard about that. You know, they almost did the same to us,” I commiserated.

Wrex growled. “It’s not the same.”

“It seems similar enough to me!” I retorted defensively.”

“So, your people were infected with a genetic mutation? An infection that makes only a few in a thousand children survive birth? And I suppose its destroying your entire species?”

I will admit, that threw me for a loop. The Alliance’s ‘krogan 101’ course basically consisted of several dozen ways to defeat them in combat. Humanity wasn’t at all concerned with their culture or history, only that they were big, hard to kill, and insanely violent.

It took a little probing, but I got the big guy talking. He was a good conversationalist, I discovered, and proud of his race and their history, but not of his people. He told me about the salarians creating the Genophage, how it made krogan breeding impossible. We discussed at length the inborn instinct to fight, and the lack of krogan sticking around to find a cure. To me, it was a tragedy, the slow loss of a surprisingly complex warrior-culture; but I could imagine that the salarians and the turians wouldn’t see it like that at all.

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been able to get more than a few hours of sleep, and we were a still a good thirteen hours away from our destination. I bid Wrex goodnight and made sure Pressly was up on the bridge.

 

~

 

_On my omni-tool, a holo-projection was rotating slowly, the dust-brown planet that was our next assignment. Toombs was studying it with me, making notes, while Petersham and Donald played cards on the floor beside their pods._

_“What do you think happened down there?” Toombs asked me, face serious._

_I shrugged. “My guess is as good as yours.” The whole mission brief made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The colony was young, in the earliest stages of development, but even then, to just drop off the face of the universe, without so much as an SOS message was unusual. It was the opening sequence of a thriller blockbuster vid, the part where the unsuspecting lifeforms went about their daily business, only to be set upon by an off-screen monster, right before the vid title and the opening credits._

_Toombs’ face told me he was thinking the exact same thing I was. I’d be glad at least to get off the ship and stretch my legs. After Elysium I’d had maybe about a week of shore leave, but that was how I liked it. Space was enormous, and so much of it was undiscovered. Earth was boring, a known quantity. I lived and breathed for the stars._

_Our crew assembled in the cargo hold, ready for deployment._

_“It is the east, and Juliet is the sun!” one of the men was teasing, to laughter from the others._

_I carefully trapped him up in a biotic stasis field. “I do bite my thumb, private,” I growled, releasing him. “I’ll have your skull for my soliloquy if you ever call me that again. What’s my name?”_

_“Shepard, ma’am!” he saluted, too quickly._

_“What’s my name, private?” I snapped again._

_“Lieutenant-Commander Shepard, ma’am!” he performed the gesture properly this time._

_I nodded, moving to the front of the lines. “Don’t forget it again, Loughlin.”_

_“I’m surprised a grunt like Loughlin’s ever even heard of Shakespeare,” Donald grinned, making room for me._

_I rolled my eyes. “The worst part is, they all think they’re the first to come up with it. Joke’s on them, I have an older brother.”_

_He laughed, opening the hatch on the Grizzly, and letting me in first. “Only one? Lucky, LC. I’ve got four.”_

_We rolled slowly out of the cargo bay out onto the planet’s surface, two ranks of ten marines jogging alongside. The colony was only a few months old, and the landing site was only a few solar-powered globes stuck in the dirt, with a rudimentary track by way of road to the main settlement._

_It was eerily quiet. I half expected tumble-weeds to just blow across the brown landscape in front of us. We reached the settlement, half hoping that colonists would run out of their homes to greet us. But there was no movement. Nothing. We left five men on guard and wandered through the settlement. I walked through one house. There was a vid blaring, an old Clint Eastwood western. A toy duck and a little camera drone had been left carelessly on the floor. In the kitchen, someone had left a datapad with a cookie recipe open, and sure enough, there was a bowl on the counter filled with flour and sugar, insects buzzing around it ravenously. I checked the bedrooms. Only one of the beds was made. In what looked like a teenage boy’s room, a recruitment poster featuring Jon Grissom had been hung over the bed. It was a neo-typical colonist family home. Only there was no sign of the family._

_It was the same all over, houses, offices, sheds, barns. In one place we came across a room filled with recently sheared sheepskin – but we’d seen no sign of any sheep. I shared uneasy glances with Petersham and Toombs._

_The colony was built inside a massive shallow crater. From horizon to horizon we could see the rocky cliffs in the distance. The sun was beginning to set, and because we were in such a huge valley, we were losing light quickly. We marched the men ten minutes outside the settlement and made camp for the night. In the morning, we’d have to begin a proper investigation._

 

~

 

I blinked sleep out of my eyes, vaguely aware that I’d been dreaming. I reached for my flight suit and commenced fifteen minutes of stretches and exercise, before joining the crew in the mess. I sat down next to Vakarian. He didn’t look like he was enjoying his protein paste.

“Thanks for bringing me on board, Commander. I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec.” I was slightly taken aback but pleased that he’d opened dialogue between us.

“Have you worked with a Spectre before?” I asked, checking that the tube he passed me was clearly marked for levo-chiral DNA.

He paused. “Well, no. but I know what they’re like. Spectres make their own rules. You’re free to handle things your way. At C-Sec, you’re buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back.”

I thought about Hackett, and my directive from Udina not to cause trouble. “Being a Spectre does have its advantages,” I decided.

Vakarian smeared his paste on some kind of stiff, greenish-looking bread. “Exactly my point. If I’m trying to take down a suspect, it shouldn’t matter how I do it, as long as I do it. But C-Sec wants it done their way. Protocol and procedure come first. That’s why I left.” He took a vicious bite.

I was unconvinced. “So, you just quit because you didn’t like the way they do things?” I raised my eyebrow at him. I hadn’t forgotten how quick he’d been to question my orders back on X57.

He opened his mouth to retort quickly but thought better of it. “There’s more to it than that,” he decided finally. “It didn’t start out bad, but as I rose in ranks, I got saddled with more and more red tape. C-Sec’s handling of Saren was typical. I just couldn’t take it anymore. I hate leaving…” he trailed off, the expression in his eyes almost wistful.

“I hope you made the right choice,” I tried to be comforting. “I’d hate for you to regret it later.”

“Well, that’s sort of why I teamed up with you,” he replied, looking down at me earnestly. “It’s a chance for me to get off the Citadel. See how things are done outside C-Sec. Either way, I plan to make the most of this. And without C-Sec headquarters looking over my shoulder, well, maybe I can get the job done my way for a change.”

I almost let that slide, but something in the turian’s vocal flanging made me think better of it, and I seized the moment to teach.

“If getting the job done means endangering innocent people, then no. we get the job done right, not fast. Got it?” I told him sternly.

His blue eyes were positively icy. “I wasn’t trying to –” he started, struggling. “I understand, Commander.”

I stood up from the table, satisfied for now. I decided to go down to engineering, I had a few questions for Tali about the geth.

Adams ran into me first. “Hey commander,” he greeted. “You know that quarian? Tali? She’s been spending all her time down here asking me about our engines.”

“I’ll tell her to leave you alone,” I replied. I didn’t want the kid getting in the way.

Adams paused, amazed. “What? No! she’s amazing. I wish my guys were half as smart as she is. Giver her a month on board and she’ll know more about our engines than I do! She’s got a real knack for technology, that one. I can see why you wanted her to come alone.”

I was pleased and flattered. “I figured she’d be a real asset to the team.”

“You’ve got an eye for talent, Commander. But I’m guess that’s not why you came down here.”

We were alone in the hallway. “Where else have you served, Adams?” I was getting used to making small talk.

“If you name a class of Alliance ship, I’ve probably served on it. Everything from dreadnoughts and carriers right down to frigates like the _Normandy_. My last assignment was on the _Tokyo_. Only a cruiser, but she was a good ship. Couldn’t hold a candle to the _Normandy_ though.”

We discussed the _Normandy_ , everything from the Tantalus drive core to the IES stealth system, until I felt sufficiently briefed on my vessel’s operation. I wasn’t a captain, I’d never taken the captain’s exam, never even looked at the criteria, but I was a Spectre, a special case. Under normal circumstances I would never have been given command of anything bigger than a fighter without knowing my ship inside out. I was more than confident in Adams’ ability though and had copies of all the ship’s manuals on my personal computer. I’d schedule time to actually read them after we’d found the damned asari.

“Commander, we’ve reached the Artemis Tau cluster,” Pressly’s voice crackled over the comm.

“I’ll be right up,” I replied eagerly.

Artemis Tau was a mostly uncharted cluster, and I had a handful of star systems to pick from. Pressly had already begun the preliminary scans. The most promising results came from Knossos, Macedon, Athens, and Sparta.

“Humans named these?” I asked Pressly, delighted.

He grinned back. “Yes, ma’am. The cities of Ancient Greece. Where should we start?”

I felt a smile of my own creep across my face. “We’ll start with Sparta,” I decided. If nothing else, we might find Admiral Kahoku’s men.

The ship’s sensors picked up an anomaly on Edolus and we prepared to drop.

“Commander, I’m picking up a signal from the planet’s surface,” Joker announced. “Looks like an automated distress beacon.”

“Alliance?” I asked, pulling on my boots. I figured it might have been Kahoku’s men.

“I can’t get a confirmation on that, sorry, Shepard.”

“Not a problem,” I reassured him. “We’ll find out soon enough.”

 

~

 

Vakarian was driving us south west from the drop zone, towards the unidentified distress beacon, when a feeling of general unease and distress began to wash over me. I could feel a faint prickling in my skin, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. I glanced over the turian’s shoulder at the visual display. We were approaching a moderately sized crater. The beacon signal was coming from the centre. I had a very bad feeling.

“Pull up,” I ordered, and he obliged, braking on the very perimeter of the curiously round ditch.

His sharp blue eyes looked up at me from his seat. “Everything all right, Commander?” he asked.

I was close enough to read my blood pressure spiking on his visor. “Proceed with caution,” I told him.

We began descending into the crater, towards the beacon. I could see the yellow globe flashing as it spun, casting strange shadows in the dust. The trembling came next, along with a sense of déjà vu so strong I thought I might pass out, and then there was an eruption, not ten feet in front of us.

“REVERSE!” I heard myself screaming, and then toppled forward into the display as we accelerated backwards.

The thresher maw lobbed a sickly green spray of acid towards us, but Vakarian swerved. I pushed Tali out of the gunner’s chair, locking the cannons on the maw’s position. One, two, three, four rockets made contact, and we just seemed to be making it angrier. I could hear it roaring in defiance at me, through the hull of the Mako, see the hideous blue tongue tasting the air like some kind of mutant serpent. Five rockets made contact, then six. Vakarian swerved again, driving straight for it.

I took aim, feeling time slow down. The thing stretched its ugly head to the skies, screeching. I aimed the gun down its throat, and felt my thumb descend on the trigger. The rocket exploded through the back of the thresher maw’s head, and for one moment, it hung in the air, proboscides flailing. Then it fell, and the sound when it hit the ground made the planet shake, sending swathes of dust up into the air.

“Head for the beacon,” I croaked, my throat raw. I realised I’d been screaming the whole time. My face was wet, and I felt like I was going to throw up inside my helmet. There was an older model Grizzly on its side, not far from the beacon. The men, Alliance soldiers, were scattered across the dirt, armour in varying stages of decay from thresher maw acid. I could hardly breathe. It was all too familiar, like a recurring nightmare.

“Alliance soldiers,” Tali’s voice was sympathetic. “Looks like they were lured here by the distress beacon.”

“Looks like these men were under Admiral Kahoku’s command. He’d want to know what happened here.” Vakarian added.

I walked up to the beacon. “Collect their tags,” I ordered the team. I punctured the seal on a fresh tube of omni-gel and began slathering it all over a handful of charges, sticking each one to the beacon. I used up all six. I had to be sure. I set it for ten minutes.

“Shepard to _Normandy_. Ready for extraction.” I radioed ahead.

“Roger that, Commander.” Joker replied.

 

~

 

On board, I ordered Pressly to chart a course for Macedon and headed to my cabin for a shower. I’d honest-to-God hoped I’d never see a fucking thresher maw ever again, but that was wishful thinking. Maw spores could survive temperatures of absolute zero, extreme radiation, even vacuums. They were worse than fucking cockroaches in that regard. _It was inevitable that I would have run into one eventually,_ I tried to soothe myself. Instead, I made myself sick, lunging for the toilet and reaching it just in time.

One thing was clear though: I had killed it. The fact was that they were mortal, organic creatures of flesh and blood and I could take them down. With my finger, I drew a ‘1’ in the steam on the shower door. Saren, I would kill for the universe. Balak, I would kill for humanity. Thresher maws I would kill for myself.

I dried myself off and wound my wet hair up in a bun on my head. My flight suit had been mysteriously cleaned and pressed while I was showering, and I climbed into it, rolling up the sleeves. Macedon was a four-world system with a barely visible asteroid belt between the third and fourth planets. Scans brought up nothing.

We moved on to Athens; an ancient red giant, with five satellites. Our scanners picked up an abandoned base on the planet Circe’s moon, which Vakarian and Wrex volunteered to investigate. They recorded their investigation on Vakarian’s suit camera, and I sat down with the crew in the comm-room to watch the footage, while Pressly and Joker directed our flight to Knossos.

“Hold at eighteen point fifty-two,” I said, squinting up at the footage. The base was marked with turian insignia, white paint that looked vaguely like a death’s head. My head swivelled to look at Alenko.

“My God,” his eyes widened. “Nihlus had that tattooed on his face!”

Vakarian was tapping away furiously on a datapad. “The turian script to the right is Ancient Palavien for _Magna,_ ” he informed us. “I’d say this base was built by the Magna colonists during the Unification War.” He gave us a brief history of old turian conflicts.

“So, you fought with yourselves, then you fought against the krogan, then you fought against the humans, too? Do turians even know the meaning of the word alliance?” Alenko asked, folding his arms across his chest. “What about friendship? Peace? Cooperation?”

“Very funny, lieutenant.” Vakarian replied drily. “We’re not the ones who started the First Contact War.”

Williams was incredulous. “I’m sorry, Garrus, but when we started to explore space, we didn’t even know there were other races out here! Instead of sitting us down and having a friendly old chat about the rules, turians tried to wipe us out!”

“Do you really think humans would have welcomed the turians, if the boot had been on the other foot?” Wrex interrupted, glaring. “As far as the rest of the galaxy is concerned, humans are just as murderous.”

“Knock it off,” I ordered. Ignoring the response, I headed back to the bridge to see what we’d find in the Knossos system. I’d all but forgotten why we were really here – to find Liara T’Soni.

Knossos was a white dwarf star with five orbiting planets and a massive asteroid belt, spanning over six hundred thousand kilometres. I was beginning to wonder how and why the Artemis Tau system was filled with so much junk and rocky debris. Phaistos was incredibly close, with an orbital period of only four Earth months. It likely couldn’t have existed at the time Knossos had been a main sequence star, making it a galactic oddity. It was likely the little planet was a fusion of several large asteroids colliding and becoming trapped in close orbit once Knossos had collapsed, and then melting together as the heat evaporated.

We discovered a huge floating mass of platinum in the asteroid belt and flagged it. Therum was home to several human colonies and a population of thirty-five thousand civilians. It was mostly industrial, but the long-range scanners picked up several Prothean ruins that looked promising.

We docked at the capital, Nova Yekaterinburg, and I took Tali and Vakarian with me to the customs office.

T’Soni had arrived a month and a half ago and purchased a working visa before having a vehicle take her out to Sverdlovsk; a mining facility that had accidentally bored through an underground Prothean city. It was up the Iset River, which, the customs officer cheerfully informed me, was a river of lava.

We drove for six hours, with the air-conditioning on full blast. Even Vakarian was sweating – or at least, the turian equivalent, which was closer to panting like a dog. We were about half an hour away from our destination when I received a radio call from the _Normandy_.

“Commander, I’m picking up some strange readings,” Joker, who had been following our location via GPS, announced. He sounded worried. “Really strange. Like, off the damn charts. It looks like it’s coming from an underground complex a few klicks away from your location.”

“Stay in contact range,” I told him. “Keep an eye on our location and monitor any other ships in the vicinity.”

“You think we’ll get a visit from you-know-who?” he asked.

“Anything is possible,” I replied. “Keep the shields up, stay in range of us, and monitor all systems closely. Have all the bridge staff on high alert.”

“Aye, aye, ma’am,” he replied, and the radio went silent.

“Do you think it is Saren?” Tali wanted to know.

I shrugged. “I’m not going to lie to you, I have no idea what we’re walking into out here,” I told them.

“That’s reassuring,” Vakarian remarked.

“For a turian, you seem to have very little respect for the chain of command, Vakarian.” I admonished him. “Or do you just have very little respect for me?”

“No, ma’am,” he replied quickly, opening his mouth to continue, before Tali interrupted him.

“Enemy sighted!” she exclaimed.

“Get me a visual!” I demanded.

A geth dropship was descending ahead of us, dropping two crates from its cargo hold and taking off. The crates smashed onto the ground and these things rose up on spindly metal legs.

“What the hell are those?” I asked, not expecting an answer.

“Armatures,” Tali blurted out. “They were a large geth unit built to carry or pull heavy loads. These units have been weaponised for combat.”

We blasted several rockets at them, dodging their kinetic energy attacks, which was difficult in a heavily armoured vehicle. One hit the ground beside us and the resulting burst of energy was enough to knock out our shields.

We carried on, veering off the Iset River through a mountain range on the east, discovering a fortified stronghold in the valley. I aimed the cannon at one of the heavy turrets.

“Trying to knock down the front door seems stupid,” Tali commented loudly, over the sound of live fire. “Maybe we could find a side window?”

I was concentrating on take out the turrets, but she had a point. “Vakarian, anything on the scanners?”

“A narrow corridor to the left. Wide enough we could probably get the Mako through, though it bottlenecks us if anything comes up behind.”

“There’s no way to open those doors from the outside,” I replied. “We’ll have to risk it. Head that way.”

“Ma’am.” He navigated gently through the crack in the cliff walls. Unsurprisingly, there was a heavy turret within the canyon, but our position behind the hairpin corner was easily defensible. There weren’t as many geth defending the stronghold as I’d expected, and I knew there would be more trouble down the road. I got out and headed through the rear building on foot to find the switch for the doors and was knocked on my back by a geth rocket trooper. Winded, with my shields down, I struggled to my feet, but Vakarian had followed me in and blasted the creature through its shoulder, and it dropped the rocket launcher.

He helped me get up, and limp back to the Mako. “And I thought Palaven was hot,” he groaned, tongue hanging out from between his teeth.

“It’s hotter than a South American summer,” I agreed, breathless. We drove out of the canyon, catching up the Iset River on the other side. There were more armature waiting for us, and we had no cover.

‘Don’t rely so much on the guns, Tali, use the rockets,” I instructed. “At this range, small ammo isn’t going to do enough damage. What the fuck is that?” I demanded, as we rounded the corner, finding another armature. Only this one was four times bigger.

“Oh, keelah!” Tali swore. “Hull compromised!” she added, as it unloaded its kinetic attack on us.

“Vakarian, get out of range!” I ordered uselessly; he’d already put the tank in reverse and hit the accelerator. “Use the mass effect drive if you have to!”

“We’ve got no shields and we’re smaller targets on foot,” he explained.

There was no time to argue. “Let’s do it,” I said, cocking my assault rifle, and twisting the handle on the hatch. “I’m going to concentrate a warp field around it,” I announced. “Don’t. Stop. Firing.”

Tearing the colossus apart, molecule by molecule, gave me a nasty headache, and I could taste iron in the back of my mouth – indicating a nosebleed was imminent. Tali and Vakarian got the thing to crash though, and I was relieved, collapsing on my knees.

“I think we’re good, Shepard,” Vakarian jogged up to where I was sitting, and dragged me to my feet for the second time that day. We drove through a long tunnel, hoping there was nothing nasty around each corner. There were more rocket troopers waiting for us at the other end, but they were no match for the Mako’s cannon. We drove through an empty field and through another tunnel, blasting our way through the barricade at the end.

“How much further?” Tali asked, glancing over at the driver’s console.

“Not much further,” Vakarian responded, slowing down. “But we can’t get through there in the Mako,” he looked at me, face grim.

“Are you sure?” I asked, double checking. He was right. The canyon through the mountains ahead to Sverdlovsk was too narrow for an armoured tank. “Shit.”

I radioed the _Normandy_ , to have blue team pick up the Mako while red team and I went on ahead. “And keep an eye out for more geth dropships,” I snapped, a little harsher than I’d intended. “Don’t let anything catch you off guard.”

We quickly realised why there had been little resistance over the last few kilometres. Geth had concentrated their firepower here, in the Ural Canyon. There were rocket troopers around every corner and snipers on every cliff and ledge ahead. “Keep your shields up!” I ordered. I wasn’t having another Jenkins today.

We approached the Sverdlovsk facility. It was hard to miss with the company logo emblazoned on the side of the silos, eight feet high.

“Commander, incoming -” Joker’s voice crackled over the radio, and then was blocked by interference from the geth dropship. Another colossus and several other geth units deployed from the ship, and we took cover behind the silos, leaving a trail of mines behind us. All four went off as several geth followed us, hopefully taking a few out. Vakarian took at the snipers with a one in a million shot between the safety rail and the walkway around the top of the middle silo, while Tali’s program hacked the ground troopers to attack the colossus.

It fell, and I executed the now-catatonic units with two shots the back of the head. We climbed the walkways into the mines, boots clanging noisily on the steel. The doors slid open automatically as I approached, and the blue-black depths of the shaft beckoned.


	8. Shepard's Fifth

I couldn’t see how far down the shaft went. There were safety ropes and carabiners on the walls though, and I took the lead, buckling myself up. If anyone fell it could get nasty. Vakarian followed my lead, showing Tali how to hook the loops to her belt. I wriggled my five fingers inside my gauntlets. I’d never considered the disadvantages to having only three fingers before. I wondered what kind of instruments three-fingered species could play.

We lowered ourselves down into the deep dark, one step at a time, for what felt like hours, but according to my omni-tool was closer to forty minutes. We’d barely had time to unlatch ourselves at the bottom when geth began firing on us. From above, we had an advantageous position, and it was too easy to toss a grenade off the catwalks and listen to the sound of geth units blasted off their feet and falling several stories to the ground.

“It looks like this cavern formed around the ruin,” Tali observed. “After it was built.”

We came to a white tiled room, partitioned off by a thick kinetic forcefield, that flickered and wavered through the blue-violet spectrum. It was obviously powerful, and I pressed my palm against it, hesitantly, expecting some mild kinetic shock, but instead felt my muscles being gently repelled, as though I was trying to connect two magnetic north ends together.

Off to the left there was an elevator and thank God for that. I did not feel like crawling down another mineshaft for hours. It reached the bottom, not the very bottom of the cavern, but another catwalk a few hundred foot down, and I cautiously directed the team out. Three geth assault drones ascended from the lower catwalks and began firing.

“I wonder what Liara’s looking for in here,” Vakarian wondered, casually knocking out two drones with one shot. “Most Prothean ruins have nothing more than dead instrumentation.”

I swatted away the third drone with a low-effort biotic toss, ignoring Tali’s huff as she holstered her pistol. “If we find her down here alive, you can ask,” I told him. We passed another creepy white room, kinetic barrier included. “I want to know what they used this place for,” I said. “It reminds me of a prison. Or a mental institution,” I added morbidly.

We found another elevator and settled in for another long descent. “How far down are we now?” Tali was musing, as we came to a grinding halt, dodging the flying sparks.

“Umm… hello?” Someone called from below. I whipped around, neither of my companions had spoken. “Could somebody help me? Please?”

Navigating the treacherous steel spikes jutting out all over the place from crushed catwalks, the three of us climbed down. I reached for Tali just in time, helping her avoid a nasty looking edge that would have cut her suit to ribbons. We approached another white room, avoiding the shimmering blue barriers.

Inside, slightly distorted, was what looked like an energy bubble, with an even more distorted asari woman inside. She didn’t look comfortable, either, her arms and legs were pinned out to the side like an unwilling starfish.

“Can you hear me out there? I am trapped. I need help!” she pleaded.

Alarmed, I glanced around behind us. “Quit shouting!” I snapped. “This place is crawling with geth!”

“Sorry!” she replied. “I am a little – look. My name is Doctor Liara T’Soni. I am an archaeologist. Listen,” I heard her take a deep breath, calming herself. “This thing I am in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. All right?”

I wasn’t so easily convinced. “Your mother is working with Saren.” I told her. “Whose side are you on?”

“What?” her eyes widened in surprise. “I am not on anybody’s side! I may be Benezia’s daughter, but I’m nothing like her! I have not spoken to her in years. Please. Just get me out of here.” Liara’s voice cracked a little, still on the verge of panic.

“How did you end up in there?” I asked. I had no idea how we were going to get through.

“I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here.” Her head twisted wildly against her restraints. “Can you believe that? Geth! Beyond the Veil!” her alarm sounded genuine, but caution was extremely necessary. “I activated the tower’s defences. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out. But when I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn’t supposed to. I was trapped in here. You must get me out. Please!”

For now, I decided to believe her. “We’ll find some way to help you,” I promised.

“There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You’ll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That’s the tricky part. The defences cannot be shut off from the outside. I don’t know how you’ll get in here.”

I tapped my finger against my hip, trying to think.

“Be careful,” T’Soni added. “There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier.”

 _Huh._ We hadn’t run into any krogan so far. Maybe we’d get lucky, and he’d fucked off somewhere else. “I’ll see what we can find,” I told her, and headed down to the cave floor with the team.

“I smell trouble,” Vakarian muttered.

He was right. We ran straight into an ambush of several geth. The catwalk crumbled beneath me, separating me from red team.

I stormed out ahead, assaulting the geth head on, while Vakarian and Tali took shots from above. A projectile whizzed over my shoulder, implanting itself in a nearby fusion containment cell, releasing a toxic gas cloud in a small explosion, staggering the geth around it.

I coughed, waving the cloud away as the turian jumped down off the catwalk.

“Are you okay?” he asked, concerned. “Twisted your leg pretty bad when you fell,” he inspected me, and I was indignant.

“Actually, my knees are supposed to bend that way,” I reminded him.

He scoffed. “Right, you’re a freak of nature. I forgot.”

I stomped past him, and helped Tali navigate her way down to the floor.

“What about this mining laser?” I asked them, banging my palm on the massive drill.

Vakarian looked at Tali, who shrugged. “Worth a shot,” she replied dubiously. She flicked the console on and began tapping away. “It’s ready to go!” she chirped happily. “Just need to figure out the override sequence… no… that’s not… _boshtet_ ,” she muttered.

Vakarian snickered.

I listened to the tapping. There was something familiar about each key… “That’s it!” I exclaimed.

Tali’s mask turned to me. I couldn’t see her face, but I knew she was confused.

“Let me,” I volunteered, and she stepped aside. “This is a human mining laser,” I explained. “The override sequence is Beethoven’s fifth symphony.” I tapped at the screen. “G – G – G – E,” I let the note hang in the air dramatically. “It’s probably the most famous piece of human classical music ever composed,” I explained. “F – F – F – D,”

There was an explosion, and a blaze of red light. We probably should have been wearing safety goggles, but it was too late now.

“I wouldn’t have guessed that if it had been the opening bars of _Martyr for the Cause_ ,” Vakarian complained to Tali.

“I like classical music,” I muttered, embarrassed. “I can play about eight different instruments.”

He shook his head incredulously. “That’s not in your file,”

“When did you look in my file?” I snapped, picking through the rubble, trying to find an opening.

He dug out a couple of rocks. “Back on the Citadel, when I was investigating Saren. I wanted to see if you were a competent soldier, or just, you know,” he finished hastily.

I put my hand on my hip and flicked the loose stones out of the way biotically. “No, I don’t know.” I replied, glaring at the turian.

“Some of the things in your report, were… well. I just wanted to make sure you weren’t _insane._ ” He coughed, looking away furtively.

“Oh.” I marched on ahead, eyeing the white tiled walls speculatively. “If its any consolation, I probably would have done the same, if I were in your shoes.”

“ _Probably_?” He replied sarcastically, and I dropped the subject. Point taken.

I approached a Prothean computer console cautiously, flicking the display open with my palm. I stumbled as the floor began to rise, catching Tali, and we steadied each other. As we reached Liara’s floor, I smacked it again, and it stopped smoothly.

“How?” the asari gawked. “How did you get in here I didn’t think there was any way past the barrier!”

 _Then why did you ask us, for?_ I thought, annoyed. “We blasted through with the mining laser,” I explained, hearing Beethoven’s fifth in my head again. _G – G – G – E._

“Of course. Yes. That makes sense,” the asari reasoned with herself. I wondered how long she’d been trapped in her little bubble. “Please, get me out of here before more geth arrive. That button over there should shut down this containment field.” She gestured with her head.

I pressed a finger against the glowing mark on the console, and the doctor clattered to the ground, landing on her knees.

“Any idea how we get out of this place?” Tali asked her cheerfully.

She gestured behind us. “There is an elevator back in the centre of the tower. At least, I think it’s an elevator. It should take us out of here. Come on,” she led the way, me following close behind her. “I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me? Do you think Benezia’s involved?” big blue eyes gazed down at me, suddenly fearful. What could she possibly have to fear from her mother?

Tali piped up again. “Saren’s looking for the Conduit. You’re a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it,” she suggested.

The doctor just looked miserable and confused. “The Conduit? But I don’t know –”

A deep rumbling from within the tower caught us off guard.

“What the hell was that?” Vakarian asked.

“These ruins aren’t stable,” T’Soni sounded worried again. “That mining laser must have triggered a seismic event. We have to hurry. The whole place is caving in!”

 _G – G – G – E,_ I thought again dramatically, stifling a laugh by coughing violently. I checked my radio for a signal. It was only yellow, but it wasn’t red. “Joker! Get the _Normandy_ airborne and lock in on my signal. On the double, mister!” I ordered urgently.

His response was swift and immediate. “Aye, aye, Commander. Secure and aweigh. ETA eight minutes.”

“He needs to move faster!” Tali shouted over the rumbling. T’Soni’s fingers danced over the console like lightening, and the elevator began to rise again.

We scrambled out at the top, only to run into her krogan friend, flanked by geth.

“Surrender. Or don’t,” he grinned at me, his mouth filled with black and broken teeth. “That would be more fun.”

I wasn’t in the mood for games in the face of imminent death by volcanic eruption. “There a reason you’re in my way?” I scowled up at him.

Blood-red eyes blazed with hatred. “The same reason you’re here: the asari. Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us. Hand the doctor over.”

I looked over at her, frozen with fear. “Whatever it is you want, you’re not getting it from me,” she half whimpered, half whispered back.

“We don’t have time to deal with this idiot,” I sneered at the krogan. “Charge!” I gave the command.

The yellow beast bellowed with laughter. “I like your attitude!”

“Commander, target practice!” Vakarian shouted at me.

“What?” I was distracted. “Oh.” I opened a singularity between the geth, letting Vakarian and Tali take them out, while T’Soni and I went for the krogan. I set off a warp field to stop him from regenerating his health and then ran for my life as he charged. Liara staggered him with a throw – most krogan were immune to weak biotic attacks, and our new friend was no exception.

Red team, finished with the geth, rained lead down on him as he gained on me, and I ducked, rolling away towards T’Soni. The rocks began crumbling as the walls caved in. Simultaneously, we trapped him in a stasis field, doubled on itself in power, and left him there, racing the seismic quakes to the bottom of the mineshaft.

“Move, move, MOVE!” I yelled desperately at them. It had taken us forty minutes to get down, but I don’t think it took us more than ten to get back out. The _Normandy_ was waiting, the cargo hold gangplank down on the ground, and I paused to watch the ruins collapse behind me before catching up with the crew.

What happened after that is a bit of a blur. I remember a violent take-off and reaching Therum’s inner atmosphere _before_ the cargo bay door was barely closed. It got really hot for a second, there. The locking mechanism on my right knee melted and I had to get Vakarian to cut it off with his omni-grinder.

After that, I don’t remember anything until I was standing in the shower, chilly water running over me. I had a feeling that the crew was waiting in the comm-room for me, and I didn’t have much time, but also, I was starving.

I ignored my growling stomach and went up to the bridge. The crew _were_ waiting in the comm-room. “Too close, Commander.” Joker couldn’t be bothered joining us but didn’t mind expressing his feelings over the comm. “Ten more seconds and we would’ve been swimming in molten sulphur. The _Normandy_ isn’t equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull. Just for future reference.”

I rolled my eyes.

T’Soni was alarmed. “We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?”

I shrugged, nonchalant. “Sometimes Joker’s a real ass. Just try to ignore him.”

“I see. It must be a human thing. I don’t have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander.” I opened my mouth to ask her what the hell she’d been doing on a human planet, then, but she continued. “But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there. And not just from the volcano. Those geth would have killed me. Or dragged me off to Saren.” She shuddered.

Alenko began the questioning. “What did Saren want with you? Do you know something about the Conduit?”

“Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise. I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them.” She told us.

Asari, like the krogan, lived for hundred of years. By human standards, I wouldn’t have put T’Soni’s age at any more than twenty, maybe twenty-five, but I knew that would be way off. “Just how old are you, exactly?” I asked.

Her cheeks flushed with colour. “I hate to admit it, but I am only a hundred and six,” she confessed.

“Damn!” Williams’ jaw dropped. “I hope I look that good when I’m your age.”

“A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours, but among the asari, I am barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves. Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories on what happened to the Protheans.”

“I’ve got my own theory about why the Protheans disappeared,” I reminded the crew.

T’Soni waved me away. “With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there. The problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind.” She was thoughtful. “It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It’s like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part: according to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilisation to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them.”

I was confused, and a little infuriated by her dismissal. “Where’d you come up with this theory? I thought there wasn’t any evidence?” I repeated back.

“I have been working on this for fifty years,” she insisted. “I have tracked down every scrap and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patterns start to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth.” She cleared her throat, and I noticed suddenly how tired she looked. “It is difficult to explain to someone else. I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more… a feeling, derived from a half-century of dedicated research. But I know I’m right. And eventually, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilisations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over.”

The comm-room was swimming in front of my eyes now. “Get to the point,” I snapped. I needed to eat, and sleep.

“The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction,” she began to explain, demonstrating with her hands. “Each time a great civilisation rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before them. Their greatest achievements – the mass relays and the Citadel – are based on the technology of their predecessors. And then, like all other forgotten civilisations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why.”

I suddenly understood why the Alliance had wanted to share the Eden Prime beacon with the Council races. If the knowledge that the beacon had imprinted in my brain was truly proof of some grand galactic mystery, it would have elevated human standing without question. But Saren got there first. I clenched my fists discreetly. “You’re not much of an expert, doctor.” I heard myself say. “The answer’s been standing in front of you the whole time. The Protheans were wiped out by a race of machines. The Reapers.” I sounded like an asshole even to me. I couldn’t imagine what T’Soni was thinking.

To her credit, she focused on the point of the subject. “The… the Reapers? But I have never heard of – how do you know this? What evidence do you have?” she demanded.

I took a deep breath, trying to think coherently. “There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I’m still trying to sort out what it all means.”

“Visions?” she confirmed. “Yes… that makes sense. The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that still works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime! The chance to acquire a working beacon, even a badly damaged one, is worth almost any risk. But the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confused. Unclear. I am amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander.” She leaned forward, gazing up at me, fascinated. Her eyes were so blue, so large… it was hypnotic, almost.

“This isn’t helping us find Saren. Or the Conduit.” Alenko snapped, bringing me firmly back down to reality.

“Of course, you are right. I am sorry. My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit. Or Saren.”

I dusted off my hands. “Looks like we wasted our time here,” I announced, annoyed.

“Wait, Commander,” T’Soni stood up urgently. “Saren might try another attempt on my life. I’d feel safer if you let me stay on your ship. Besides, my knowledge of the Protheans might prove useful later.” She pleaded earnestly.

“And, her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts,” Vakarian added slyly.

I felt like I was about to pass out, and T’Soni looked as terrible as I felt. “Good to have you on the team, Liara.” I told her, anxious to finish up.

“Thank you, Commander. I am very gratef –” she swooned, and I caught her by the elbow, barely. “I am afraid I am feeling a bit light-headed,” she confessed weakly.

Alenko was all over it. “When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Doctor Chakwas should take a look at you.”

“It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the Protheans’ true fate. I need some time to process all this. Still, it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Commander?”

“Go see the doctor,” I ordered. “The rest of you, dismissed.”

“Mission reports are filed, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?” Joker piped up over the comm.

I didn’t really, but it wouldn’t look good, to keep the Council waiting, and I didn’t want poor old Udina to lose anymore hair. He didn’t look like he could afford it. “Patch them through, Joker,” I requested wearily, leaning on my chair.

The holographs flickered to life. “We’ve received your report, Commander.” Tevos announced, by way of greeting. “I understand Doctor T’Soni is on the _Normandy._ ”

“I assume you’re taking the necessary security precautions?” Sparatus sneered.

I glared up at him. “Don’t tell me how to do my job,” I warned.

“You are free to act as you see fit, Commander. Our role is to offer guidance and advice.” Tevos added.

“It’s up to you if you’re smart enough to listen,” the turian councillor added.

I wasn’t in the mood to argue. “Liara’s on our side. The geth were trying to kill her,” I reminded him.

Tevos was shocked. “Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter,”

Valern was a little more rational. “Maybe she doesn’t know,” he theorised.

“Or maybe we don’t know her,” Sparatus shook his head. “We never expected she could become a traitor.”

“At least the mission was a success,” Valern turned back to me.

Sparatus scoffed derisively. “Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin. Was that really necessary, Shepard?”

“We almost died in there!” I snapped. “The geth were everywhere.”

“Of course, Commander,” Valern placated. “The mission must always take priority.”

“Good luck Commander. Remember: we’re all counting on you.” Tevos disconnected, leaving me alone in the comm-room.

I drummed my fingers on the back of my chair, trying to decide which feelings to prioritise. Anger and scorn coloured my thoughts, but frustration most of all. There was something I was _missing,_ a piece of the puzzle, something I needed to know that would help me make sense of it all.

I wandered out on to the bridge. One of the heat load monitors was blinking, and the attending crewman was on a break. The volcanic extraction had melting the plumbing in the lower decks, I noted glumly. We’d need to have that repaired as soon as possible before anyway sewage leaks occurred. I headed up to the cockpit and slumped myself down in the gunnery station.

“I prefer gold to silver,” Joker looked at me expectantly. over his shoulder. “You know, for my medal. I figured you’d recommend me for one since I pulled your, uh, boots out of the fire.”

I almost smiled. “If we present you with a medal, you’ll end up sitting on stage listening to politicians make speeches for a couple hours,” I replied, with a serious look.

“That’s a good point,” he turned back to his console. We sat in companionable silence for a few minutes, listening to the low hum of the ship’s air filter and the quiet chatter from the crew stations. Curiously, I pulled up the vid feed from the extraction and watched the replay, fascinated. Joker was a damn good pilot. I saw my team hurtling out of the mineshaft, noticing the way I’d paused to look back as the rest of them rushed up the gangplank. Steaming orange geysers of lava streamed upwards, spattering the hull with burning flecks. “They’d probably make me shave, too,” Joker added, rubbing the curly stubble on his lower face, looking past my head at the feed on my console. “I spent the last seven weeks working on this baby. No medal’s worth that.”

I snorted lightly, stifling a yawn.

“So, Commander, why don’t you tell me why you’re really here? You look completely beat, you should go get some sleep.”

I shrugged. “Shitty dreams.”

We sat in companionable silence. I always liked that about Joker. We could laugh and make fun of each other, or have serious conversations, or we could just sit and not talk; something I came to appreciate in the years we served together. I yawned again, not bothering to hide it.

“Chakwas could give you something for that, if you wanted.” He offered.

“I’ve been down that road,” I replied, getting to my feet. “Not somewhere I want to go again.” I looked at my omni-tool. “Page me in six hours?” I asked, and he nodded.

With a completely straight face he flicked a switch, and the opening bars of Beethoven’s fifth filled the cockpit. I raised an eyebrow, amused, realising he was broadcasting it across the comm system. “I thought the crew could use a classical education,” he told me, snickering.

I admired the view on the visual screen for a moment before I left, the music softening into a calm diminuendo. Space was huge, and the answers were out there. The only question was whether or not I’d find them in time.


End file.
